The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is 'weeks away from completing animation' as the Italian plumber prepares to shoot into space next April

The Italian plumber has very rarely graced our humble rigs, but lest we forget Mario has been on PC before in a couple '90s educational videogame stints. Which, to me, is more than enough of an excuse to yap a little about the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy Movie which just made a brief appearance in a seven-minute dedicated Nintendo Direct.

We got to peep a new trailer showing off Bowser Jr (voiced by Benny Safdie) and the undisputed best princess in the Mario universe Rosalina (Brie Larson) alongside the return of Mario, Luigi, Peach, and a miniature Bowser—who was shrunk at the end of the first movie, if you forgot.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – Official Trailer - YouTube

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Bowser seems to have taken to a bit of a Rapunzel lifestyle, chilling inside a toy-sized castle and painting diabolical works of art where he's a jacked-up hot bro. For whatever reason Bowser Jr.'s debut gets hit with the Prowler sound effect from Into the Spiderverse, and it looks like he'll be replacing his papa as the sequel's antagonist.

The trailer finds just enough time to squeeze in an appearance from my beloved Rosalina at the end making quick work of a Megaleg before making way for the movie's release date: April 3, 2026. Not that far off, really.

It makes sense that it's coming up quite soon. During the direct, Illumination (that's the Despicable Me studio also behind the Mario movie) CEO Chris Meledandri said that the studio was "just weeks away from completing animation," saying that the full movie will include familiar faces as well as "deep cuts that long-time fans will recognise." The Direct even has a Jack Black jumpscare appearance, and the guy seems incredibly stoked to be there.

I admit I actually quite enjoyed the first film despite the Chris Prattness of it all—please stop casting this guy in everything, I beg of you—and while it wasn't quite the videogame cinematic masterpiece of Sonic the Hedgehog, it's still a solidly decent movie especially by videogame adaptation standards.

I think Illumination and Nintendo are smart to tap into one of Mario's most popular games—I've never had the pleasure of playing either Galaxy games myself, but everyone I know who has never shut up about it, so they must be good.

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Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.

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