Quick Links

For almost 40 years, Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. has persevered as an ambassador for the gaming world. Their Red and Green overalls and hats only mean one thing—Mario and Luigi. These goomba stompin’, fireball tossin’, pipe slidin’ Italian plumbers originally hail from the platformer genre. In fact, they’re pioneers and trendsetters who continually evolve with the standard set by modern design and technology. They’ve crept their way into party games, fighting games, RPGs, racers, several sports titles, and more on their path to global reverence.

Mario as a commercial IP exists on a scale somewhere between comic book characters and Pokemon. Gamers, for the most part, eat it up too. Nintendo sells entire consol generations on first-party IPs that see a release or two per cycle, careful not to inundate fans with yearly sequels. They’ve taken extreme caution in adapting their characters for screen after the commercial failure of their live-action attempt at the Super Mario Bros in 1993—which actually kinda rips. Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) and John Leguizamo donned the hats and battled King Koopa (Dennis Hopper) as Mario and Luigi, but the Paul Verhoven action aesthetic didn’t grab fans the way that the colorful and charming gaming world of the Mushroom Kingdom did. Just shy of thirty years later, and Nintendo is stepping up to bat again, this time with an animated adaptation.

In 2018, Nintendo and Illumination announced The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which will be the iconic Italian plumber's very first animated movie. Illumination is the studio responsible for the family-friendly animated films Despicable Me, Dr. SeussThe Lorax, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, Sing, and their sequels. Fans had to wait another three years before more information dropped during 2021’s September Nintendo Direct—Nintendo’s method of disseminating information surrounding upcoming products through presentations. Questions, concerns, and memes immediately followed so let’s break down everything we know about The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Editor's Note: This piece was updated on March 10.

super mario bros movie bowser
Image via Universal

Related:Look, What Did You Expect Mario to Sound Like?

Who is Who In The Super Mario Bros. Movie?

Chris-Pratt-as-Mario-feature

During 2021’s September Nintendo Direct, Nintendo Representative Director and the creator of Mario himself, Shigeru Miyamoto announced the release date and casting details that set the internet on fire.

Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) is everyone’s favorite mustachioed plumber, Mario. Considering Mario has traditionally been voiced by Charles Martinet, who is set to play several characters who inhabit the big-screen adaptation of the Mushroom Kingdom, news of Pratt’s casting stunned just about everyone. He shared a video on his Instagram detailing his long-standing love affair with Super Mario Bros., and his excitement and commitment to the project. “It’sa me,” he jokingly said with a hint of a New York Italian-American accent before saying, “that’s not the voice, you’ll have to wait to hear the voice, but we’ve been working hard at it.”

Charlie Day (Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia) is set to star as Mario’s brother, Luigi. Luigi’s more clumsy, frantic, oddball nature suits the wildcard of It’s Always Sunny. No stranger to animated fare, Day has previously voiced characters in The Lego Movie and its sequel (which also starred Chris Pratt), and Monsters University.

Anya Taylor-Joy is the animated Princess Peach. In an interview with ExtraTV, Joy said,

“It’s so much fun. I have unlimited amounts of respect for all of the work that goes into it because these artists are just incredible.”

Time will tell if Princess Peach will serve as more than the damsel in distress, her typical role in each Mario Bros. installment.

super-mario-bros-character-posters-peach
Image via Universal Pictures

Related:'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' Directors Explain Changes to Princess Peach

In a universally praised casting move, Bowser will be played by comedy icon Jack Black. His dynamic voice and excitement to step into the spiked shell of King Koopa make him an ideal candidate for the role. When Consequence chatted with Tenacious D, Jack Black’s comedic rock n’ roll band with Kyle Gass, Jack Black expanded on his relationship with the franchise,

“Am I a Mario Bros. fan? Dude, I go way back. Okay? I go Donkey Kong. I was there when Nintendo was in short pants...The main thing is, hey Pratt Pratt, I’m coming for you. Yeah, Bowser’s gonna eat you up whole. I’mma barbecue you, and then eat you. *munching sounds* Barbecue chicken! *slurp*”

Fellow comedy icons Fred Armisen (Portlandia), Keegan-Michael Key (Key and Peele), Sebastian Maniscalco (Green Book), and Seth Rogen join the Mushroom Kingdom as Cranky Kong, Toad, Spike, and Donkey Kong respectively.

Rounding out the cast is VO legend Kenneth Michael Richardson as Kamek, the Magikoopa, and the aforementioned Charles Martinet voicing several characters.

What Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie About?

super mario bros movie social featured

Image via Universal

Traditionally, Super Mario Bros. sees Mario and Luigi on a quest to save Princess Peach from the clutches of the fire-breathing King Koopa, Bowser. The inclusion of part of the Kong family suggests an attempt at fleshing out the world outside of Peach’s Castle and Bowser’s Lair. The movie is being written by Matthew Fogel (The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part) with Aaron Horvath (Teen Titans Go! To The Movies) and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!) directing. In a conversation with Variety, Illumination's own Chris Meledandri spoke about the studio’s commitment to Miyamoto’s vision, saying,

“We are keeping him front and center in the creation of this film. I’ve rarely seen that happen in any adaptation where the original creative voice is embraced like we’re embracing Miyamoto.”

All of those creators combined suggest a movie strongly aimed at children.

The official synopsis from Universal doesn't reveal much:

Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (collaborators on Teen Titans Go!, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies) from a screenplay by Matthew Fogel (The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, Illuminations’s Minions: The Rise of Gru), the film stars Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike.

The film is produced by Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and by Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. The film will be co-financed by Universal Pictures and Nintendo and released worldwide by Universal Pictures.

Brian Tyler, who has worked on the scores for films and shows such as Yellowstone, the Fast and Furious franchise, and Avengers: Age of Ultron, composed the film's score with some help from franchise staple Koji Kondo.

Is There A Trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie?

The first teaser trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released on October 6, 2022, during the film's panel at New York Comic Con. In the trailer, we get our first look at Jack Black's take on Bowser, as he and his army of Koopas invade an icy kingdom ruled by Penguins in order to steal the invincibility star (an item both hardcore Mario fans and casual MarioKart players will know). The trailer then cuts to Chris Pratt's Mario landing in the Mushroom Kingdom for the very first time and meeting Toad, who leads him to Peach's castle, as they bounce off mushrooms. The trailer then ends with Charlie Day's Luigi being chased by a swarm of Dry Bones, seeking refuge in a spooky-looking mansion, Luigi's Mansion, anyone? Alas, the teaser didn't show anything beyond that.

The official trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie debuted on November 29, 2022, and it gave fans of the Italian plumber their best look yet at the highly anticipated animated film. The trailer opens with Mario entering a stadium seemingly in the Kongo Jungle where he preps himself to face off against Donkey Kong, only to be humiliated by the tie-wearing gorilla. The trailer then goes on to reveal more of the film's plot as we learn that Mario's brother Luigi has been kidnapped by Bowser. This forces Princess Peach to recruit Mario to protect the Mushroom Kingdom, as we see the iconic character attempting and failing to go through a familiar-looking obstacle course. The trailer then cuts to a montage of Mario, Peach, and Toad's epic adventure with plenty of callbacks to the video games including Cheep Cheeps, Tanooki suits, the Fire Flowers, and multicolored Yoshis running through the jungle. The trailer ends with an ode to MarioKart as we see Mario leading an army of characters including Peach, Toad, and Donkey Kong (and wait, is that Funky Kong in the background?) on go-carts along the rainbow road with the mustached hero giving his signature "Waa-Hoo!"

The first full-length clip from the film debuted on December 8, 2022, during the 2022 Game Awards. The 90-second clip shows Toad (Key) showing Mario (Pratt) around the Mushroom Kingdom for the first time, collecting gold coins, traveling with moving platforms, walking across floating blocks of brick, warping through green pipes, and finally arriving at Princess Peach's (Taylor-Joy) castle. On January 29, 2023, we got a trailer for the film spotlighting Seth Rogen's Donkey Kong, which you can see below:

This was followed by a "commercial" for Super Mario Bros. Plumbing on February 12. The final trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released on March 9, showcasing a minute and a half of footage and an epic version of the iconic Mario theme. See it right here:

Related:The Most Anticipated Animated Movies of 2023

When Does The Super Mario Bros. Movie Come Out?

The-Super-Mario-Bros.-Movie-Donkey-Kong

When Shigeru Miyamoto announced the cast list in September, he also told viewers the movie, at the time, was expected to drop on December 21, 2022, in the United States of America, and sometime over the holiday season, 2022, everywhere else. Though back in April 2023, it was revealed that the film was being delayed to April 7, 2023, in the US, over the Easter holiday, and April 28, 2023, in Japan. This move was likely made to avoid competition with Avatar: The Way of Water, which is sure to be a juggernaut over the holiday season. The date has since gone through one more change, with the movie now set to come out two days earlier, debuting on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. The film's run time is 92 minutes.

For more Super Mario Bros., check out the original live-action adaptation, if you haven’t, or check out the fan-made restoration that reinserts 20 minutes of cut material back into the film. Visit the Nintendo eshop on any Nintendo system with internet support and immerse yourself in the Mushroom Kingdom with any of the dozens of Mario Bros. titles and spin-offs before the film comes out. And keep checking back at Collider for more information on everyone’s favorite plumbers’ new trip to the big screen.