The Super Mario Bros. Movie may not have been a hit with critics, but fans ate it up — to the tune of $1.36 billion at the global box office. The movie adaptation of the beloved Nintendo video game franchise featured an original story that was inspired by the games, and definitely plenty of fun easter eggs.
A sequel to The Super Mario Bros. movie was announced earlier this year, and while Nintendo hasn't shared any official details, one of the film's actors did tease some interesting tidbits. Actor Keegan-Michael Key, who voiced Toad in the first movie and will reprise his role in the sequel, recently spoke with Men's Journal where he shared some broad details about the upcoming movie. And it should have fans of both the movie and the games excited.
“One thing I can say about the second movie is that it's a little broader in scope, and where it takes place is very intriguing lore and the Mario world,” he said. “They're going to find some really fantastic Easter eggs and it's been very exciting so far.”
Many believe the first movie already teased where the sequel could go. There's a brief scene when Princess Peach is talking to Mario about where she may be from — since she actually wasn't born in the Mushroom Kingdom — and she mentions that the universe is full of "a lot of galaxies." Naturally, everyone's mind went to the Super Mario Galaxy video game.
Adding to the speculation, Key continued, “I feel like what they've done creatively is they've really widened out the universe that these characters live in and we're going to meet some new folks. We're going to meet some new folks that are old favorites and some folks that I think are really deep cuts, but because of the way the story's laying itself out right now, those characters are going to be very intriguing.”
The first movie already featured plenty of Easter eggs and a wide ensemble cast so it will be interesting to see how much further Nintendo and Illumination can push it. We do know that the end of the first movie teased Yoshi so it's possible we could see the beloved dinosaur character on the big screen in the sequel. As for some of the "deep cut characters," there's no shortage of fan-favorite characters to pull from.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel was announced in May with animation said to be starting "soon" at the time. When the sequel was first announced, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto teased, "We're thinking about broadening Mario's world further, and it'll have a bright and fun story."
With a release date set for April 3, 2026, it may be quite a bit longer until we get any solid information about the sequel. So in the meantime, let us know who you would like to see brought to life on the big screen in The Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel.