I wouldnt say im back.. Or i ever left lol. But to answer your question here is my guess. And mind you these are not things I’ve heard but rather things I think make sense.
I think Universal is looking at HP and saying we could of went bigger orignally. And now with Nintendo theyre doing just that. You dont have all these plans, permits, concept art etc surface and then nothing happen. Imo i think theyre working on a way to bring Nintendo to both Studios and IOA as well as the new park.
Mario imo will be the face of the new park and Super Mario world will go there. It just makes sense that way since IOA nor Studios with their current IP line up and tremedendous growth need Mario. The new park however needs that MEGA HYPE type IP to lure guests in and Mario is just the character to make that happen. So yeah i think Gate X will get Super Mario World.
Now i think the real question is what happens to Kidszone and what gets replaced in IOA. Kidszone has to go, and they know it. But you need a major IP that will pull families in since your gutting a kids focused area. So does that mean Trolls? HTTYD or Dreamworks mash up? Or another Nintendo property such as Pokemon or Donkey Kong? Personally i think any of these work cause they imo have to be family focused and kid friendly.
As for IOA and what happens there thats tough. It will be interesting to see which land goes in favor of a new IP. You can eliminate the obvious Potter, JP, and Marvel. Then Seuss is imo safe with new Illumination seuss stories hitting theaters starting later this year. So that leaves Toon and LC. I know many say Toon but i personally think Toon is safe. Those water rides pull in massive crowds for the Peak spring break and Summer seasons Some may say yeah but in Jan and Feb theyre useless. While true, the park isnt really in need of those attractions pull and capacity during those times. Another clue those water rides still pull in more crowds than Sinbad or PF even on the least attended days.
So my guess is LC is the land they target in the future for expansion. Now if theyre trying to bring Nintendo to every park including IOA i think the only logical option is Zelda. I mean id poop if a Zelda land was coming, but id also lose my mind if HTTYD replaced LC. Its easy to associate those IPs too cause they have the same sort of feel imo.