“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” was one of the surprise box office smash hits of 2023, taking in $1.3 billion worldwide, good for the second-highest-grossing movie of the year behind “Barbie.” You know what that means: an inevitable sequel, which was announced by Illumination and Nintendo last March, with a theatrical release date of April 3, 2026.
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But that’s just over the horizon now, so it’s time for the studio to drum up hype for the animated film. And what better way to do so than an announcement of the sequel’s title? That’s the main point of the new title announcement teaser that Universal dropped this morning. The rest of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” teaser doesn’t give away much of anything in terms of plot or new characters, but the title suggests a more expansive look at the franchise beyond Mario, Bowser, Peach, etc.
Speaking of those characters, Universal confirmed with the release of the new teaser that Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black all return to voice their respective roles in the sequel. So do Charlie Day (Luigi), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), and Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek). Additional characters and voice cast for the sequel will be announced at a later date, so speculate away on who may show up. Maybe Wario? Waluigi? Funky Kong in a voice role?
Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic are also back to direct “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” helming a script by Matthew Fogel, who also returns. Brian Tyler also comes back to compore the sequel’s score. Chris Meledandri of Illumination and Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo will also produce again.
So, will “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” be another massive hit for Universal at the 2026 box office? It’s a safe bet it will be: this is a familiar IP that caters to kids and the general audience alike, even if it’s still such a gaff that Chris Pratt of all people voices Mario. For Universal, this is easy money, and that’s also why several other films with Nintendo are also in the works.
Check out the new teaser for “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” below. As noted earlier, the film hits theaters on April 3, 2026.
