A sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie is moving forward at Illumination and Nintendo, currently scheduled to release in April 2026. The original movie became a huge box office success when it released last year, earning over $1.3 billion and the record for the highest-grossing animated movie of all time.
As revealed by Variety, the sequel has been greenlit by production company Illumination, which also produced the first movie and the Despicable Me franchise, as well as Nintendo following the first movie’s monumental success. It’s unclear what the plot of the sequel will be or if it will introduce new characters, though we’ll surely hear more about it closer to release. A release date of 3 April 2026 is currently set for the sequel.
The sequel will be produced by Chris Meledandri, founder and CEO of Illumination and Shigeru Miyamoto, representative director of Nintendo. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, the directing duo of the first movie, will return for the sequel as well alongside the movie’s screenwriter, Matthew Fogel.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie remained faithful the series of iconic video games from Nintendo, introducing newcomers and fans to the Mario brothers, Mario and Luigi, as they embark on a grand adventure to save the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser.
The voice cast featured in the movie was a big talking point before its release, with Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya-Taylor Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong and Jack Black as Bowser, among others. For the most part, viewers seem to agree that the cast did a good job in their respective roles, though it’s not known if the full cast will be returning for the sequel.
The description of The Super Mario Bros. Movie reads:
“A Brooklyn plumber named Mario travels through the Mushroom Kingdom with a princess named Peach and an anthropomorphic mushroom named Toad to find Mario’s brother, Luigi, and to save the world from a ruthless fire-breathing Koopa named Bowser.”
Source: Variety
