Nintendo Officially Unveils Diddy Kong’s Redesign (Photo)

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Nintendo recently showed off the updated look for Diddy Kong, continuing a series of character redesigns that surprised fans earlier this year. These changes, made in preparation for the next generation of Nintendo Switch consoles, included a new, more compact build for Mario and a revamped Donkey Kong. The new DK features smaller, more expressive eyes, echoing his original arcade appearance and look from The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

In 2025, Nintendo also updated the appearance of Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong’s energetic companion. The new design was gradually revealed over several months through official Nintendo channels, including the Play Nintendo website.

The updated design isn’t as different from the previous one as Donkey Kong’s redesign, but there are still some clear changes. Similar to Donkey Kong, the new Diddy Kong has a slightly more animated face, achieved through subtle adjustments to his eyes that allow for more expressive eyebrows.

This character now appears to have teeth, a feature that wasn’t previously emphasized, except for a brief glimpse in King K. Rool’s reveal trailer for Super Smash Bros.

The updated design also features more detailed fur and separates the skin between his eyes, moving away from the single, solid white area seen in the original version.

Donkey Kong’s latest look is very similar to how he appeared in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Diddy Kong’s redesign follows suit. Diddy briefly appeared in the Mario movie wearing a cap, and looked slightly different from his usual video game appearance.

The character now wears a more relaxed shirt. Plus, the new style of Diddy appears to include a similar pin on his hat, possibly inspired by the Super Mario Bros. Movie.

For months, there’s been talk of a possible new movie based on Donkey Kong, potentially connected to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

Players can now see the updated Diddy Kong in the new game, Donkey Kong Bananza. He didn’t appear in Mario Kart World, which was where the redesigned Donkey Kong first appeared.

When Will Fans See This New Diddy Kong Design in Action?

It’s strange that Nintendo is giving Diddy Kong a new look in 2025, especially since they don’t seem to have any immediate plans for him in games or other media.

Fans briefly saw the updated Diddy in Donkey Kong Bananza last summer, but he only appeared in one level and wasn’t involved in the rest of Donkey Kong’s adventure to the Earth’s core.

The character is also absent from Mario Kart World, a game exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2. While Donkey Kong appears in the game, Diddy Kong – a long-time favorite in the Mario Kart series – is notably missing.

The timing of Diddy Kong’s new design suggests Nintendo has significant plans for the character over the next few years, and they needed to reveal the updated look now to prepare for those announcements.

There’s growing buzz about a potential Donkey Kong movie, and it sounds like Diddy Kong could be a major character. If the movie happens, it will likely draw inspiration from the popular Donkey Kong Country games, where Diddy is a central figure.

As a big movie and theme park fan, I’ve been watching Nintendo’s moves with Universal Studios really closely. They’ve been building incredible lands based on their games – we’ve already seen amazing Mario areas, and now it looks like they’re starting to bring Donkey Kong to life too! It makes me wonder if what’s happening with the movies is connected to these park expansions – they’re clearly thinking big about bringing their properties to different kinds of entertainment.

To keep the popularity of Donkey Kong and his friends growing in theme parks, Nintendo likely wants to integrate its characters across all its entertainment platforms – games, movies, and attractions like those at Universal Studios. Therefore, even if there aren’t any new Diddy Kong games planned right now, it’s a good time to establish his role and presence.

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2025-12-01 23:05