Just a few weeks ahead of its theatrical debut Illumination has released the final trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The new footage sees Luigi taken hostage by Bowser who is rallying his army of Goombas, Koopas, and whatever those little red shell guys are to destroy the mushroom kingdom. The trailer also features Mario vowing to rescue his brother, helping Princess Peach protect the realm, and even a trip down Rainbow Road, all set to an epic trailer version of the Mario theme that's going to be stuck in your head for days.
Featuring the adventures of the pint-sized plumber, Super Mario features the adventures of Mario Mario, and his brother, Luigi, as they battle to protect the Mushroom Kingdom and rescue Princess Peach from the evil Bowser. Mario is the second-most profitable IP in the Nintendo arsenal, just behind the global behemoth that is Pokémon.
As many will already know, Mario came to life in the arcades of the 1980s alongside Donkey Kong, before getting his own titular game which also included Luigi. Since then, Mario has been one of the faces of the Nintendo company, with new Mario adventures being highly antiicpated with fans on each console released since, with the likes of Mario 64 (1996), Super Mario Sunshine (2002), Super Mario Galaxy (2007), Super Mario Odyssey (2017) standing out from the pack.
The animated film is only the second attempt Nintendo has made to bring Mario to the big screen after the universally-derided bomb that was 1993's Super Mario Bros. live-action film, widely considered one of the worst films ever made. Wisely, however, Nintendo decided to play it safe and stuck to animation for the film - and in doing so, bringing in Illumination Studios - to make the film for them. Illumination, best known for the Despicable Me and Minions franchises look to have brought the world to live based on what we've seen so far.
The movie boasts a star-studded cast including Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong and Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach. In addition, Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario and Luigi in the Nintendo games, will be appearing in the movie via what have been described as "surprise cameos".
The Super Mario Bros. Movie opens in North American movie theaters on April 7, 2023 as part of a rolling launch worldwide. Belgium has the earliest release date announced thus far on March, 22, followed by France on March 29, Australia and New Zealand on March, 30, and UK audiences will get to experience the film on March 31. Check out the final trailer down below: