Updated

Updated · Polygon · Aug 16

Lego, Nintendo Set 2027 Debut for Super Mario Minifigures After 6 Years of Blocky Builds

Updated

Updated · Polygon · Aug 16

Lego, Nintendo Set 2027 Debut for Super Mario Minifigures After 6 Years of Blocky Builds

Q: Could the rumored 2027 adult-oriented Mario builds secretly include a nostalgic 1981 Donkey Kong arcade cabinet with the original Jumpman?

Yes, it is plausible, but it is still only a rumor. The strongest reason is that the leaked 2027 Super Mario range is said to include at least one 18+ or adult-oriented build, and separate rumor reporting already points to Nintendo and Lego exploring exactly that kind of nostalgia-driven concept: a Donkey Kong arcade cabinet based on the 1981 game, complete with Jumpman, the original captive woman often called Lady or Pauline, and barrel-jumping play features. That would fit Lego’s recent pattern of adult Nintendo display sets such as the NES, Game Boy, pixel-art Mario builds and large Mario Kart models. There is also a thematic logic to it. Traditional Mario minifigures arriving in 2027 would finally make a classic Jumpman-era scene much easier to execute at minifigure scale. A cabinet or micro-diorama tied to Donkey Kong’s arcade roots would let Lego tap both Mario history and collector nostalgia in one product. Still, there is no official confirmation that a 2027 adult Mario build includes this idea, and some reporting even places the rumored Donkey Kong arcade machine earlier, in 2026, as a separate Donkey Kong-branded set rather than a hidden part of the 2027 Mario wave. So the safest reading is that a nostalgic 1981 cabinet is credible and consistent with the leaks, but not secretly confirmed by them.

3 articles · Updated · Polygon · Aug 16

2027 is the launch target for Lego and Nintendo’s first Super Mario minifigure line, a shift from the larger interactive, block-shaped figures that have defined the theme since its 2020 debut.
A March teaser showed Mario emerging from a Warp Pipe in classic minifigure form, signaling the companies are finally moving the franchise into Lego’s standard character format.
Leaked details cited in the report point to Luigi, a BigFig Bowser and a rideable Yoshi with a removable shell, though Lego and Nintendo have not confirmed that wider roster.
The release expands a partnership that already spans Mario Kart, Donkey Kong and Zelda sets in 2026, while Mario minifigures remain new territory even after Lego made Animal Crossing and Zelda characters.