Given the enormous popularity of the original film, the following announcement shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it’s official: Nintendo and Illumination have announced that a Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel will be released in 2026. With Matthew Fogel writing the screenplay, Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic directing, Nintendo producer and renowned video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto serving as Representative Director, and Chris Meledandri, founder and CEO of Illumination, producing, the Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel will largely share the same production team as the original.
New Animated Super Mario Movie Announced
In honor of Mario Day on March 10th, Miyamoto announced on the official Nintendo Twitter/X page. As stated by Miyamoto on the Nintendo Twitter.
“This is Miyamoto. We are now creating a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros. This film is planned for release in theaters on April 3rd, 2026 in the US and many other markets, and throughout April in other territories. As for details of the new film, as I often say, we’ll let you know once we’re at the stage where we’re ready to share more. This time, we’re thinking about broadening Mario’s world further, and it’ll have a bright and fun story. We hope you’ll look forward to it.”
CEO of Illumination, Chris Meledandri said;
“I’m thrilled to announce our return to Super Mario Bros. We start animation soon, and rest assured [we’ll] be stressing over every detail to get it right.”
Although there isn’t much information available now, the phrasing implies that the movie could focus on more characters than just Mario and Luigi as it did in the previous movie, apart from the post-credits sequence in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which hinted that Yoshi will play a significant role in the sequel, not much.
Nintendo’s Cinematic Expansion and Upcoming Projects
However, Nintendo, Illumination, and distributor Universal Pictures are sticking to the game plan that generated over $1.3 billion in global box office receipts in 2023, making The Super Mario Bros. Movie the second-highest-grossing film of the year after Barbie. Director Michael Jelenic, screenwriter Aaron Horvath, and writer Matthew Fogel will make up the main creative team for the new film. The release plan is also appropriate: April 5, 2023, to be precise, was the release date of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
In 2023, Nintendo also revealed that a live-action Legend of Zelda movie was in production, in addition to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Nintendo is expanding, even though the company is still primarily concerned with its video game and console hardware divisions. Nintendo wants to take its intellectual property (IP) beyond screens by bringing well-known characters and locations into the real world. To access the Mushroom Kingdom, go to Super Nintendo World at any of the Universal Studios theme parks throughout the globe.
The video game behemoth is also packing the calendar for 2024 with a full lineup of games, such as Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, the next installment in the Paper Mario series, and an expansion for the Game Boy collection on Nintendo Switch Online, which will launch on March 12, 2024. In any case, Nintendo is informing fans that another Mario moment will be released on screen in 2026. Hopefully, Bowser will release another ballad and maybe even introduce a new character.
