Nintendo began streaming a new video for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, on Sunday. The video offers the first look at Yoshi in the film, and it also announces that the film will open in North America and the United Kingdom two days earlier on Wednesday, April 1.
Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri added on Sunday that the animation in the film is now complete, as the project moves into post-production. The staff is working on sound design at Skywalker Sound and on the music with a 70-piece orchestra.
The film will open in North America on April 1, and will open in Japan on April 24.
Meledandri and Nintendo representative director and fellow Shigeru Miyamoto are again producing Illumination and Universal Pictures’ 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.
Brie Larson (Captain Marvel, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) joins the film’s cast as Rosalina, while Benny Safdie (Oppenheimer, director/writer of Uncut Gems) plays Bowser Jr. 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. Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2, a collection for Nintendo Switch with enhanced versions of both games, launched on October 2. The collection features enhanced resolution, improved user interface (UI), an Assist Mode for for additional Health and fall recovery, and new pages for Rosalina’s Storybook. Each game is also available individually digitally.
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.
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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’s YouTube channel
