It was obvious even before release that Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. Movie would almost certainly get a sequel. It was a sure thing once the movie opened big and earned $1.3 billion in an era where theaters are often struggling, becoming the biggest video game movie of all time by a wide margin.
Now, Nintendo has announced its sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, along with its release date, the not-all-that-far-away April 3, 2026, which will be almost exactly three years after the first one.
While The Super Mario Bros. Movie was not based on a specific game, more just general Mario characters and concept, that does not appear to be the case with the Galaxy movie, as that is very much a specific game in the franchise. It was released in 2007 (wait, no way) and spawned a sequel in 2010. There’s no third game, but at this point, never say never, especially if a movie is coming.
What’s unique about this game? Well, you may guess there’s a space theme. In Galaxy, Bowser attacks the Mushroom Kingdom with airships and an actual flying saucer he uses to steal Peach’s entire castle. Mario is thrown into space where he wakes up to meet Rosalina, “Guardian of the Cosmos.” Then, Mario has to go get a ton of stars, as per Mario tradition.
While we know that (now more controversial than ever) Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy and Jack Black will reprise their Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser parts, the biggest addition is obviously going to be Rosalina, who became a Mario icon and has appeared in a number of spin-off games since. I don’t suppose there’s any reason to try to guess who might play the starry guide, as it’s not mandatory any voice actor looks like the character (though Anya Taylor-Joy isn’t far off, I suppose). We haven’t heard any confirmation of an actor on this front at this point, only that the OG cast is returning.
While I do imagine the basics will be in place here, castle kidnapped by Bowser, Rosalina guiding Mario, clearly the movie is going to be changing things around and adding things so it’s more than just Mario finding stars in random places. For one, Peach is barely around after co-leading the first movie, and Luigi is literally just an unlocked character after star-hunting. So that will have to change.
There is little question that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will make an insane amount of money. But more or less than the first one? We’ll find out in six months, it seems.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
