After the Earth-shattering (or perhaps Mushroom Kingdom-shattering) success of 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the question on everyone’s mind wasn’t if we’d get a sequel, but where it would take us. This week, during a surprise Nintendo Direct, Nintendo and Illumination finally gave us the answer. Get your Luma a blanket, because we’re going to space.
The first full trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has finally landed, and it looks like the studios are doing it big—cosmic big—for their next animated feature.
While we get a few cozy-looking shots of the Mushroom Kingdom, things quickly escalate. The trailer briefly shows a very minuscule Bowser (with Jack Black’s iconic roar no doubt still intact) imprisoned in a tiny castle, a hilarious follow-up to his post-credits predicament. But the main event has everyone looking to the sky, as Mario (Chris Pratt), Luigi (Charlie Day), Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), and Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) spot a shower of shooting stars and decide to venture off into the great unknown.
That’s where the group encounters a new, yet very familiar, foe: a vengeful Bowser Jr. (voiced by Benny Safdie), who’s ready to wage war and free his father. And he’s got a brand-new, game-hopping weapon to do it: a magic paintbrush that looks pulled straight from Super Mario Sunshine. In one of the trailer’s most frantic-looking scenes, Bowser Jr. uses the brush to transform things into metallic, goopy versions of themselves, making it clear that Mario and his crew might be outgunned for a while.
But the heroes won’t be alone. The trailer gives us our stunning first look at Princess Rosalina, the celestial guardian of the cosmos. Voiced by Brie Larson, Rosalina looks like she’ll be a heavy-hitter and a key mentor, seen gracefully battling a massive spider-like robot (which fans of the 2007 Wii game will recognize) using her magic wand. Her introduction, along with her Comet Observatory, confirms the film is diving headfirst into the lore that made Super Mario Galaxy one of the most beloved games in the franchise.
The trailer leans heavily into the action set pieces that team Mario will find themselves at the center of as they hop from planet to planet. We see them zipping through a desert world with upside-down pyramids—a clear nod to Super Mario Odyssey—and navigating bizarre, gravity-defying landscapes that are the hallmark of the Galaxy games.
Returning to direct are Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, with screenwriter Matthew Fogel also penning the script, ensuring the same creative team that delivered the $1.3 billion-grossing original is at the helm.
Curiously, one character is still playing it coy. After the first film’s post-credits scene teased a certain green dinosaur, Yoshi doesn’t make an appearance here. But given that tease, we can probably expect to see the shoe-wearing fan favorite as we get closer to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s April 3, 2026, premiere date.
For now, the trailer promises a sequel that isn’t just resting on its laurels. It’s expanding the universe in the most literal way possible, blending elements from Galaxy, Sunshine, and Odyssey into what looks like a thrilling, star-faring adventure.
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