It only took one sequel and Mario’s already going into outer space. During a short Nintendo Direct this morning, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto showed off the first official trailer for next year’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (out April 26, 2026), featuring a new look at the animated interplanetary adventure.
The follow-up to 2023’s billion-dollar hit, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, was formally revealed back in September but the Nintendo livestream breaks open the mystery block on the film’s story and characters, including many familiar faces for fans of the video games.
Watch the trailer below.
The trailer begins with a look at diminutive Bowser (Jack Black), who is now living in a tiny version of his castle after being shrunk by a mini-mushroom at the end of the previous film. He retains an antagonistic relationship with Mario (Christ Pratt) but appears to be warming up to Luigi (Charlie Day). Their banter is followed by the arrival of a new threat, Bowser Jr., who aims to break his father out of the clutches of the plumber brothers. The teaser ends with a glimpse at an action sequence wherein new character Rosalina uses her magical powers to take down a giant robot.
Following the trailer, Miyamoto kicked the presentation over to Illumination CEO, Chris Meledandri, to introduce the voice actors behind the two new additions: Brie Larson (Captain Marvel) as Rosalina, the godlike overseer of the cosmos, and Benny Safdie (Oppenheimer) as Bowser Jr.. One big omission is Yoshi, Mario’s longtime dinosaur pal and ridable mount — although the character rarely has speaking lines in the games.
While the 2023 Super Mario Bros. movie drew inspiration from numerous games in the franchise from all different eras of Nintendo history, the new film leans more heavily into two specific titles, 2002’s Super Mario Sunshine and 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy. The former introduced Bowser Jr., complete with his weaponized paint brush that’s seen in the trailer. Most everything else seen comes from Galaxy, which is considered one of the best entries in the entire series, as well as an all-time great 3D platformer.
Although it was met with mediocre reviews, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a massive success for Nintendo and Illumination, grossing over $1 billion at the box office and having an extended run topping the streaming charts after releasing digitally on Peacock. The movie’s reception was big enough to effectively wash away the sour taste of 1993’s live-action catastrophe, with Nintendo accelerating its plans for future feature film adaptations of its properties, including a live-action take on The Legend of Zelda, due out in 2027.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie arrives in theatres on April 26, 2026.
From Rolling Stone US
