The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Just Dropped — And Nintendo Already Has the Next Mario Film in the Works

Nintendo and Universal Just Did It Again

If you thought The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023 was a fluke, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie just proved that Nintendo and Universal Pictures have a bona fide cinematic universe on their hands. The film landed in theaters earlier this year, bringing the same infectious energy that made the Mario Galaxy video game one of the greatest Nintendo Switch-era titles ever — and fans are eating it up.

What the Movie Brings to the Table

Directed once again by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (the duo behind The Mitchells vs. the Machines at Sony Pictures Animation), the film pulls its story straight from the beloved Mario Galaxy game. Chris Pratt returns as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, and newcomer Glen Powell steps into the role of Fox McCloud from the Star Fox franchise — a casting choice that honestly makes way more sense than anyone expected.

The animation team at Illumination Entertainment outdid themselves this time. Space environments, Rosalina's Observatory, the iconic Lumas — everything translates beautifully from the game world to the big screen. The Lumas alone are going to sell a million plush toys, mark my words.

Meanwhile, Charlie Day (Luigi) and Keegan-Michael Key (Toad) get significantly more screen time compared to the 2023 film, and their comedic chemistry actually carries several emotional scenes. That's not something I expected to say about a movie based on a plumbers-with-mushrooms premise.

What's Next for Nintendo's Big Screen Universe

Here's where things get really interesting. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has already confirmed that a third Mario film is in development, with The Legend of Zelda movie following close behind. Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri hinted in a recent interview that Donkey Kong could get his own standalone film — which would star Seth Rogen reprising his role from the first movie.

The box office numbers speak for themselves. The Super Mario Bros. Movie grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide in 2023, making it the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is tracking to beat that number globally, which means Universal and Nintendo are sitting on a goldmine.

So whether you're a longtime Nintendo fan who grew up with the Wii and Nintendo Switch, or you're just someone who likes good animated movies with actual heart — this one's worth your time. And with a Zelda film already on the horizon, the Nintendo cinematic universe is just getting started.