The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is Nintendo’s latest cinematic outing, and after the massive success that Illumination’s highly anticipated sequel was met with, a movie based on the Super Smash Bros. franchise is inevitable. Fans have been clamoring for the iconic crossover fighting game to get adapted into a feature film since the release of the first Super Mario movie, and now may be the perfect time to get it started.
After the failure of 1993’s Super Mario Bros., Nintendo exited the feature film space for decades. When they decided to return, however, the company knew that it needed to bring back its most iconic franchise. 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie proved that Nintendo could do movies right, and after the massive box office success of the first film, Illumination and Nintendo began looking for ways to expand. A direct sequel was the most obvious path forward, but there may be an even better choice coming soon.
The Success Of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Makes A Smash Bros. Movie Inevitable
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has been a massive box office success, proving that the commercial reception of the first film wasn’t a fluke. The sequel was the first 2026 film to pass $300 million at the domestic box office, and as of the writing of this article, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has made $629 million worldwide. This is incredibly impressive, and considering that The Super Mario Bros. Movie made $1.360 billion, the sequel still has a lot of potential at the box office.
However, Mario movies won’t be guaranteed box office successes forever, so Nintendo has to figure out how to continue one-upping their previous films. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie arguably tells the biggest story that the Mario franchise has to tell, and movies based on other games could feel like a step down. However, one way to circumvent these problems is to jump directly into a bigger Mario-related franchise: Super Smash Bros.
A Super Smash Bros. movie would generate even more hype than a third Mario movie, so it is the best direction for the franchise to go. Fans would get excited to see Nintendo franchises beyond Mario make the leap to the big screen for the first time, but it also has bankable characters like Mario and Princess Peach to rely on. This mix would allow for an even grander tale, but it would still have all of the elements that have made the Super Mario Bros. movies such big successes.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie already teases that this could be a possibility. Fox McCloud from the Star Fox franchise is one of the film’s main characters, and he is arguably now more known for Super Smash Bros. than his own series. On top of that, the titular aliens from Pikmin get a cameo in the film, bringing the number of Smash franchises properly represented up to three (five if you count Donkey Kong and Yoshi separately. Now that a few franchises are in the mix, the ground is set for an even bigger crossover event.
Where Else Could Nintendo Go After The Mario Galaxy Movie?
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie creates a problem of escalation for Nintendo, as basically any direct sequel would seem like a step down from the grand scale of Galaxy. This is partially why speculation about a Super Smash Bros. movie has been so rampant, as the Star Fox and Pikmin setups could create a situation in which a proper Mario follow-up is a letdown.
Let’s say that Nintendo doesn’t do a Super Smash Bros. movie next. The most obvious option would be a Super Mario Odyssey movie, but considering how many Odyssey elements were in the Galaxy movie, this seems unlikely. One fun option would be a movie based on the spin-off games, like a Super Mario Party movie. After all, the Galaxy post-credits set up Daisy, a character who is mostly in the spinoffs. Plus, this would be the perfect excuse to bring in Wario and Waluigi.
Another option would be to focus on spinoffs of the movies that already exist. Movies based on Donkey Kong and Luigi’s Mansion have been rumored since the first film was released, and they’re different enough that they would be exciting in a way that a third Mario movie isn’t. A movie based on the Star Fox franchise would also be incredibly exciting, even if it probably wouldn’t be as big a box office hit as Mario. Nintendo has some big choices to make, but hopefully the company realizes that Super Smash Bros. is the best pick.
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