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Nintendo Unveils The Super Mario Galaxy Movie for April 2026

Nintendo and Illumination unveiled during the Nintendo Direct on Friday The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The film will open in April 2026. The Direct featured a trailer:

Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and Nintendo representative director and fellow Shigeru Miyamoto are again producing the new film. Directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and screenwriter Matthew Fogel are returning from the previous film for the new project. Brian Tyler is returning to compose the soundtrack.

Returning cast members include Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach. Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek.

The film commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Super Mario Bros. franchise. Meledandri stated that although the movie is based on the Super Mario Galaxy games, it will feature "surprises" from every Mario era.

The original Super Mario Galaxy game debuted on Nintendo Wii in November 2007. The sequel Super Mario Galaxy 2 launched for Wii in May 2010.

Nintendo confirmed on March 10, 2024 that a new animated film "based on the world of Super Mario Bros." is in the works with Illumination. Returning partner Universal Pictures planned to release the film on April 3, 2026 in the United States and many other markets.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie opened in the U.S. and in over 60 markets worldwide on April 5, 2023. The film earned US$31,702,735 in its opening day in the U.S., and US$204,630,730 in its first five days in the U.S. (the film opened on a Wednesday, and thus had a five-day opening frame). Deadline puts the movie's estimated US$377,628,865 opening worldwide as the highest-earning all-time worldwide opening for an animated film, beating Frozen II. (Frozen II opened over a regular three-day frame, as opposed to The Super Mario Bros. Movie's five-day frame.) The film is also the highest-earning video game adaptation in history.

Other cast members from the first movie included Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike. Charles Martinet, who has voiced Mario and many other Nintendo characters in games, also voiced "surprise cameos" in the film.

The film ended 2023 as the #2 top-earning film worldwide and in the United States, with worldwide earnings of over US$1,361,367,353, including US$574,934,330 in the U.S.

Source: Nintendo Direct