Nintendo’s Super Mario Movie sequel will ‘broaden Mario’s world’

Super Mario Bros. video game series creator Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that a sequel to the Super Mario Movie is coming in 2026.

According to the post on the official @NintendoAmerica X account, the sequel will hit theatres on April 3rd, 2026 in the U.S. and “many other market,” which likely includes Canada. The movie will make its way to other territories in April.

This is Miyamoto. We are now creating a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros. This film is planned for release in theaters on April 3rd, 2026 in the US and many other markets, and throughout the month of April in other territories. [1/2]

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) March 10, 2024

Miyamoto says that Illumination, the animation studio that handled the Super Mario Movie, is back for the sequel and that the visionary video game creator and Nintendo are still heavily involved in the project. Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri and Miyamoto return as producers. Aaron Horvath and Micheal Jelenic are returning as directors, and Matthew Fogel is back again to write the screenplay.

Beyond this, not much is known about the sequel yet, but in the X post, Miyamoto says the movie will focus on “broadening Mario’s world further.” It’s unclear what that means, but it could be a hint that more Nintendo franchise characters will make an appearance in the film or that it will be inspired by the SNES’ Super Mario World.

Despite its lukewarm critical reception (including from MobileSyrup‘s Brad Shankar), the movie was a financial success, earning roughly $1.36 billion USD (roughly $1.83 billion CAD).

Nintendo is also working on a live-action The Legend of Zelda movie. On the gaming console front, the Switch’s successor reportedly won’t launch until March 2025, according to recent reports.

Image credit: Nintendo

Source: Nintendo