I didn't realize that it really was JUST the 2000's that Nintendo didn't know what to do with Donkey Kong. Like Nov. 22nd, 1999 gave us DK64 and Nov. 21st, 2010 gave us DKCR and according to a skim of the development on Wikipedia, a year of dev time for DKCR sounds like a possible estimate.

Like as soon as the new millenium turned, Nintendo forgot what to do with DK. Then 2010 hit and Nintendo was like "oh yeah, the platformers were cool." The fact that it fit so perfectly in that decade is funny to me because I am easily amused I guess 🤷