It's been great hearing from all the old hats at Rare in GameXplain's recent DKC coverage. The way the Rare folks reflect on the series, it feels like they never expected the series to explode in the way it did during the mid-to-late 90s. They'd be too humble to admit it, but they essentially salvaged the character of Donkey Kong at a time when Nintendo didn't seem to have much else in mind beyond arcade throwbacks, by creating a brand around him with their vibrant cast of characters and worlds.
Fingers crossed we see more Donkey Kong content in the coming months and years. Nintendo has been mum on the series for what seems like ages but have so many directions they could go, from SNES DKC ports for Switch, a refurbished HD DKC Returns or the "new Donkey Kong experience" Reggie alluded to years ago, as soon as they want to take the time to invest in the brand's future.