The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2 will feature some characters who are “really deep cuts.”
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released in United States theaters in April 2023. The film was a massive hit for Universal Pictures, Illumination, and Nintendo, as it grossed approximately $1.362 billion at the worldwide box office off an estimated $100 million budget.
Keegan-Michael Key voiced Toad in the movie, which was written by Matthew Fogel and directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. The voice cast also included Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong.
In March 2024, it was announced that a new Super Mario Bros. movie will be released in 2026. Horvath and Jelenic are returning to direct the film, while Fogel is once again writing the script.
What did Keegan-Michael Key say about The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2?
Speaking to Men’s Journal, Key provided an update regarding The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2 and discussed how it will contain plenty of Easter eggs for Nintendo fans.
“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.”
Key added, “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.”
Pratt previously said he believes The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2 could kickstart a Nintendo Cinematic Universe. He told ScreenRant in May 2024, “There are decades worth of [games] to explore, not only with Mario and Peach and Donkey Kong and Luigi and Bowser and Yoshi; that was teased at the end. But it just gets me so excited. I was such a Nintendo head growing up, so just thinking about how everything from Legend of Zelda to the entire Nintendo Cinematic Universe could be created and what that could look like for all of these characters that I love? I mean, there’s really no limit. We could talk about it for hours.”
The new Super Mario Bros. movie will be released in United States theaters on April 3, 2026.
