David Bridges
Key Highlights
- Release Date: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is scheduled to hit theaters on April 3, 2026.
- Cast: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, and Jack Black return for this sequel.
- Directors: Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath are back at the helm for this new adventure.
- New Characters: Brie Larson and Benny Safdie join the cast as Princess Rosalina and Bowser Jr.
Almost three years and over a billion dollars later, Mario is back on the big screen. Nintendo just released the first trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and it’s bringing your favorite plumber and his friends into a whole other world.
That world was made possible when the 2023 film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, grossed almost $1.5 billion globally, all but assuring that Nintendo would keep coming back to the big screen. And while we saw a brief glimpse of the movie back in September, now we get our first big look at where the sequel is going. And it’s going to the stars.
Chris Pratt returns as the voice of Mario, along with Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek. Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath, who directed the first film, return to direct. Brie Larson and Benny Safdie will also be joining the film as Princess Rosalina, a major character from the Galaxy games, and Bowser Jr., the film’s new main villain, respectively.
“All of us at Illumination feel so fortunate to continue our collaboration with Nintendo as we expand the life of Mario in movies,” Chris Meledandri, Illumination founder and CEO, said back in September. “And while The Super Mario Galaxy games are the core inspiration for our story, this next film holds surprises for fans of every Mario era.”
This looks kind of exactly like what you’d expect from the sequel. Bigger, grander, more characters, all that. Certainly, it seems the previous film’s focus on a younger audience, as opposed to parents who grew up with the characters, is once again the priority. And why wouldn’t it be? Clearly, it worked very, very well the first time, and now, they’re just expanding that with influences from subsequent games.
We didn’t love that first movie, but we were distinctly in the minority. Here’s hoping that Universal, Illumination, and Nintendo make a sequel that doesn’t just make fans of the original happy but that can be even better than the first one.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is coming to theaters on April 3, 2026.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Daniel Mercer
