For the first time in nearly 30 years, Mario and friends are returning to the big screen, this time in a fully-animated feature in collaboration with Illumination.
During today’s The Super Marios Bros. Movie Nintendo Direct, Shigeru Miyamoto, the father of the franchise, as well as Chris Meledandri of Illumination, introduced fans to the first trailer of the upcoming animated film, which will release on April 7, 2023. Various stars of the movie also expressed their gratitude for being a part of the project, acknowledging how important the franchise is to their lives.
The trailer begins by immediately establishing Bowser, played by Jack Black, as the central villain of this tale. By burning down a kingdom run by penguins, who are no match for the fiery breath of the King of the Koopas, he gets his hands on a Power Star, which appears to be his main goal in the movie.
Interestingly, Mario, voiced by Chris Pratt, is introduced in the trailer as never having previously stepped foot in the Mushroom Kingdom. He is launched from a Warp Pipe into a field of mushrooms, where he’s then greeted by Toad, voiced by Keegan-Michael Key, who scares the plumber into believing the mushrooms are dangerous. The pair then venture into the Mushroom Kingdom as the movie’s title is revealed.
In typical side-character fashion, Mario’s brother Luigi, voiced by Charlie Day, is only shown after the title disappears, showing him running from a hoard of Dry Bones. It is currently unclear how Mario and Luigi will reunite, though the older brother appears to have once more gotten himself into trouble with dangerous enemies—this time outside of a haunted mansion.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie will be released in theaters on April 7. More previews of the movie are expected to be shown as the release of the movie nears.
