The Super Mario Bros. Movie official toys have revealed a character not yet confirmed by the trailer: a star-like creature introduced in 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy known as a Luma. The toys come from a partnership with McDonald’s Happy Meal and are part of a collection that also includes nods to other games of the larges Super Mario franchise, hinting at perhaps the many nods and Easter eggs to come when the film hits theaters this spring.
In Super Mario Galaxy, Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach and takes her into a spaceship in a distant galaxy. To defeat the villain, Mario must cross multiple galaxies and find Power Stars that can be used as energy on a space station controlled by Rosalina, a woman who acts as an adoptive mother for the Lumas, which are falling stars that haven’t found their purpose yet. Including a Luma in The Super Mario Bros. Movie marketing campaign, as shown on Twitter by the account Nintendo Merch Central, indicates the creatures are part of the movie somehow, which only expands the scope of the ambitious adaptation.
So far, we learned that the film follows Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) and Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day) as they get transported to a different dimension after finding mysterious pipes. While Luigi ends up in Bowser’s (voiced by Jack Black) domain, Mario goes to the Mushroom Kingdom, where he must train to become a hero and defeat the Koopa King. Surprisingly, Mario’s training somehow involves Donkey Kong (voiced by Seth Rogen) and the other monkeys of Kong Island. This explains why Nintendo’s fan-favorite gorilla is also part of the new toy collection.
Besides dealing with elements from the Super Mario and Donkey Kong gaming franchises, The Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer also revealed Mario Kart is part of Illumination’s story. That’s because Mario leads the Kongs on a kart race over Rainbow Road, the most famous course of the entire franchise. That’s why there are toys of Mario and Toad (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) driving karts in the new toy collection. Curiously, the McDonald’s partnership also includes a Luigi holding a flashlight, which is a nod to the Luigi’s Mansion franchise. In this series of games, Luigi is a ghost hunter who uses his flashlight to weaken Boos and other supernatural menaces.
When Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie Coming to Theaters?
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic from a script by Matt Fogel. The star-studded voice cast of The Super Mario Bros. Movie also includes Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, and Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong. Mario’s original voice actor, Charles Martinet, also makes cameo appearances throughout the film.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie comes out of a warp pipe and into theaters on April 7, 2023. Check out the trailer below: