On one fine Friday morning in October, the world witnessed the first trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It finally gave us Chris Pratt’s Mario voice. Today, we’ve got yet another trailer that is…silly. Because of course it is.
Focusing on gaming’s arguably most iconic character, the Mario movie is one that’ll either leave fans wishing for the end or wanting more. Given the track record of videogame movies… look, we want to be optimistic about this one. Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog were both heaps of fun, after all.
So, what do we know about the Super Mario Bros movie?
Super Mario Bros. movie
The first word of the Super Mario Bros. film hit back in 2017 and it’s been in the works ever since. But now, we’re less than a month away from there being not one, but two Super Mario Bros. movies in existence. The Super Mario Bros. Movie opens on April 6 and comes from not only game creator Shigeru Miyamoto but also the minds behind Minions.
Super Mario Bros. trailers
The first trailer debuted at New York Comic-Con and gives us a tantalising look at the film.
The trailer focused mostly on Bowser, his army of Koopas and his conquest of a penguin fortress. The penguins look somewhat like those from Mario 64, except they’re less annoying and cuter. Anyway, Bowser finds a Super Star and the trailer moves on to reveal Mario. And Chris Pratt’s voice. And Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. Mario sounds a bit confused about the world around him, making us think the story might revolve around a character being sucked into the game.
After this, the title is displayed and we get to see Charlie Day’s Luigi being chased by an army of Dry Bones.
Next up came this trailer.
While the first trailer focused more on the franchise’s villain, this one shifts to those loveable Italian plumbers, Mario and Luigi, and the many, many games they lead.
Anyway, here we are again with a third and final trailer, dropped just this morning.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie voice cast
Turning the most heads about The Super Mario Bros Movie wasn’t the movie itself, per-se. Rather, it was its all-star voice cast, including famously not-Italian actor Chris Pratt as Mario. Pratt has picked up a lot of voice acting roles over the past few years, in particular as the lead in The LEGO Move and its sequel, Onward, and the recently announced Garfield movie. To say the least, Pratt being cast as Mario has divided fans, but it has also led to some pretty funny fan-made things.
Beyond Pratt, we know the voice actors of several other characters.
- Anya Taylor-Joy: Princess Peach
- Charlie Day: Luigi
- Jack Black: Bowser
- Keegan-Michael Key: Toad
- Seth Rogan: Donkey Kong
- Fred Armisen: Cranky Kong
- Kevin Michael Richardson: Kamek
- Sebastian Maniscalco: Spike
- Charles Martinet (The original voice actor of Mario): Surprise cameo in the movie
What is the movie going to be about?
If it’s anything like the games, The Super Mario Bros. Movie will be about Mario. No kidding, right?
Seriously, it’ll likely follow the classic plot of Mario rescuing Princess Peach from Bowser, the main villain of the Mario franchise. Hopefully, the writers can subvert the classic damsel in distress narrative, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Before you ask, “Do I need to play the games to get the movie?” no, you likely won’t. Mario games are pretty easy to follow with basic storylines, so don’t feel out of your depth going into the movie. This is, of course, subject to change, but it’s a pretty safe bet.
Do you need to watch the other Mario Bros movies to watch the 2023 movie (in particular, the 1986 and the 1993 film)? No, god no. Nothing in this world should compel you to watch those movies unless you really want to.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie release date
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was meant to be out in December 2022 for Aussies, buttttt it’s been pushed until April 6, 2023.
We’ll update this article as soon as we know more about The Super Mario Bros. Movie. While you wait, why not check out every other major sci-fi, fantasy and horror flick set to release in 2023.