MANILA, Philippines — The Super Mario Bros. are going galactic after film studios Universal and Illumination as well as game developer Nintendo confirmed "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" is coming out next year.
The sequel to 2023's animation blockbuster "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" will be released during the first week of April 2026.
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Directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic return to helm the film as will screenwriter Matthew Fogel and composer Brian Tyler.
The original movie based on the popular video game by Nintendo earned $1.36 billion (P77.7 billion) at the global box office, a first for a video game adaptation and among the few animated films to cross a billion dollars.
It featured the voices of Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as his brother Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as the villain Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad and Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek.
"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" saw Mario and Luigi transported to the Mushroom Kingdom where Mario teams up with Princess Peach, Toad, and Donkey Kong (voiced by Seth Rogen) to save Luigi from Bowser's clutches.
All the mentioned actors sans Rogen are expected to return for "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" which borrows its name from the hit 2007 Nintendo game on the Wii.
"Super Mario Galaxy" saw Mario travel to different galaxies and planets in order to save Princess Peach from Bowser, who kidnapped her in a flying saucer.
The sequel was confirmed ahead of the 40th anniversary of the original "Super Mario Bros." video game with a teaser showing Mario sleeping under a tree then following a butterfly through the Mushroom Kingdom, up Princess Peach's castle, and into space where the title card was seen.
Briefly seen in the teaser were a burrowing Monty Mole, swimming Cheep Cheeps, scurrying Toads, and the star Luma, who ends the teaser saying Mario's catchphrase "Let's-a-go!"
Many are anticipating who will voice the character Rosalina, a prominent figure in the "Super Mario Galaxy" game, as well as the dinosaur Yoshi which was teased at the end of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie."
Nintendo is also working on a live-action adaptation of "The Legend of Zelda" with Sony Pictures. That film directed by Wes Ball and starring Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Zelda and Link, respectively, comes out in March 2027. — Video from Illumination's YouTube channel
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