'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ confirms release date in Super Bowl trailer and hype has officially leveled up
Fans don't have to wait much longer to find out if Super Mario will rescue Princess Peach in 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie'. The sequel to the hit 'Super Mario Bros Movie' made headlines when it was announced in 2024. The first trailer was released last November, and now the second debuted during Super Bowl LX.
The objective will be to rescue Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) with the powerful assistance of Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson). Chris Pratt and Charlie Day reprise their roles as Mario and Luigi. Jack Black returns as Bowser, along with Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Bennie Safdie as Bowser Jr.
This latest tease features the heroes squaring off against Bowser Jr. (Safdie), who boasts, 'The great battle of my life draws near!' A later scene sees Yoshi eating Kamek (Kevin Michael Richardson). Along with the new 30-second footage came the announcement of the official release date. 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' hits the big screen on April 3, 2026.
The first film in the franchise became the third-highest-grossing animated movie at the global box office, grossing $1.36 billion. Per Deadline, the feature reportedly made a whopping $559M in profit. The expectations are just as high for the sequel after the first clip saw Mario embark on another dangerous mission to rescue Peach. The upcoming film is directed by returning filmmakers Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, based on a screenplay by Matthew Fogel. Brian Tyler returns to compose the score.
In his previous interview, Shigeru Miyamoto, the game's creator, shed light on the sequel. "The setting for the next movie is, just as the title says, the galaxy. That’s all I can really say. We’re in the final stages of production now, but I think it’s going to be fun," he told Shortlist. "I usually just say, ‘I’ll keep working on it until it becomes fun,’ so that alone should tell you how confident I am."
In related news, Pratt had previously expressed excitement about playing the iconic character. "It was really beautiful,” he told Today. "Not just because we all worked so hard on it, but also because it was just gratifying to know that we had made something really extraordinary." The 'Guardians of the Galaxy' star added he was a huge fan of the games and spent hours playing them during his childhood. When dissecting the character, he said, "I think that Mario is someone who doesn't know how to quit, and oftentimes that's a pejorative. And in fact, that's a very good thing, to never give up."
Other major drops during Super Bowl LX included teasers for 'The Mandalorian and Grogu', 'Scream 7', 'The Adventures of Cliff Booth', 'Minions & Monsters', 'Project Hail Mary', 'Hoppers', and 'Supergirl'. Marvel Studios was a major absentee amid speculation that it would release the trailers for 'Avengers: Doomsday' and 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'. For now, the wait is on to see if Pratt's Mario can save Peach again when 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' rolls in on April 3 in the US.
