Everything We Know About The Super Mario Bros. Movie

The Super Mario Bros. movie that hit theaters in 1993 was nothing like what anyone expected. While the games were bright, colorful, and fun, Super Mario Bros. was a dark, bleak dystopian movie where Goombas were humanoid dinosaurs with shrunken heads, Yoshi was a literal dinosaur, and Bowser--then King Koopa--was a human-dinosaur hybrid played by Dennis Hopper. There's a possibly apocryphal story of Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto watching the movie and smiling at the end and saying that he's okay with it because no one will mistake it as having anything to do with his games.

Since then, Nintendo has avoided the big screen. There have been rumors of Metroid and Zelda movies being options from time to time, but we didn't get anything solid until Nintendo announced The Super Mario Bros. Movie, along with its cast, headlined by Chris Pratt. The movie's casting has received criticism from every corner of the internet.

Actors like Jack Black, Seth Rogen, and Charlie Day have largely been welcomed by fans, but Pratt has been derided by everyone from Mario fans who want to see longtime Mario voice actor Charles Martinet get his time in the sun, to moviegoers who have tired of Chris Pratt's increasingly uninspired performances in movies like Jurassic World: Dominion, to Super Mario Bros. movie alum John Leguizamo, who has spoken out about the lack of diversity in the cast. Pratt assured fans that his Mario voice wouldn't be just his normal voice and would be "unlike anything you've ever heard," but fans have found the trailer to suggest otherwise.

What's the release date?

The Super Mario Bros. Movie hits theaters on April 7, 2023.

Who's directing?

Aaron Horvath and Michael Jeleinc, who have both worked on the Teen Titans Go series among other things, are directing the Super Mario Bros. Movie for Illumination, the studio best known for the Minions characters.

Who's starring?

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has a star-studded cast headed by Chris Pratt and Anya Taylor-Joy as Mario and Princess Peach. Charlie Day plays Luigi, Jack Black plays Bowser, and Keegan-Michael Key rounds out the primary cast as Toad. Seth Rogen and Fred Armisen play Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong respectively. Charles Martinet, who has provided the voice for Mario in the games for over two decades, will have a cameo appearance somewhere in the film.

What do we know about the story?

The storyline appears right now to be a pretty standard Super Mario storyline. Mario is a newcomer to the Mushroom Kingdom and must help Princess Peach defend the kingdom from Bowser.

Is there a trailer?

Nintendo and Illumination debuted a new trailer during the November 29, 2022 Nintendo Directed devoted to the movie, which you can watch here. Additionally, a clip of the film debuted at the 2022 Game Awards.

Will there be more movies?

Nintendo is notoriously protective of its intellectual property. After the strange, dystopian Super Mario Bros. movie was so poorly received in 1993, it took them nearly 30 years to put out another Super Mario movie. If the movie performs well with children and their parents, we imagine that Illumination will be eager to exploit the franchise to the same degree that they have the Minions characters, but Nintendo may have other plans for it depending on that reception.