The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is a 2026 American animated adventure comedy film based on Nintendo's Mario video game franchise. Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and written by Matthew Fogel, it is the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023). Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black and Keegan-Michael Key reprise their roles, with Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, Glen Powell, and Brie Larson joining the cast. It was produced by Illumination and Nintendo. In the film, Mario and Luigi and their friends adventure into outer space, where they face off against Bowser and his son Bowser Jr. (Safdie) to save Princess Rosalina (Larson). Nintendo's president Shuntaro Furukawa stated in May 2021 that Nintendo was interested in producing more animated films based on its properties if the then-untitled Mario film was successful. Illumination CEO and producer Chris Meledandri was asked about the possibility of a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie before the film's release in April 2023. Following its box office success, a new animated Mario film was announced to be in development at Illumination in March 2024, with Horvath and Jelenic returning as directors and Fogel as screenwriter. The film takes inspiration from Mario video games such as Super Mario Galaxy (2007) and Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010), among other Nintendo games such as the Star Fox series. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie premiered at Minami-za in Kyoto on March 28, 2026, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 1 by Universal Pictures. While the critical response was mixed to negative, it was a commercial success, grossing $1.012 billion worldwide against a $110 million budget, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2026 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time, only behind its predecessor.
Plot Princess Rosalina, the adoptive mother of the Lumas living in the Comet Observatory, is kidnapped by Bowser Jr., who plots to drain her powers to fuel a universe-destroying cannon in honor of his father, Bowser, who was defeated by Mario and Luigi and shrunken by Princess Peach. Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi are called to inspect a disturbance in the Tostarena Town, where they discover and befriend the dinosaur Yoshi, who had hatched in Brooklyn and was pursued back to his home world after accidentally breaking a dinosaur skeleton in a museum. A Luma sent by Rosalina arrives in the Mushroom Kingdom, where it enlists Peach and Toad for help. In Peach and Toad's absence, Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi protect the Mushroom Kingdom and attempt to rehabilitate Bowser. Bowser Jr. lifts Peach's castle into space in an attempt to free his father, but a battle with the brothers and Yoshi causes his spaceship to drop the castle into the Honeyhive Galaxy. Bowser goads Mario into attacking him, thus unshrinking him, but kindly offers to be arrested for damaging the fields in exchange for the brothers and Yoshi getting transported to the Gateway Galaxy. Bowser later gets abducted by his son, whom he had sent to boarding school years prior. In the Gateway Galaxy, Toad's backpack is stolen by monkey thief Ukiki, who takes it to a hidden casino. Peach forces Wart, the casino's owner, to reveal Rosalina's location, the Space Junk Galaxy, but he then alerts the Bowsers about Peach. Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi reunite with Peach and Toad, who have hired pilot Fox McCloud to transport the group. Fox's Arwing crash-lands into Fossil Falls after an attack from Bowser Jr., who transforms Mario and Luigi into babies with a Super Scope. Bowser expresses regret over double-crossing the brothers but returns to his old ways to mend his relationship with his son. Yoshi finds the Super Scope, rescues the brothers from a Tyrannosaurus, and restores them back to their ages. Luigi alerts the Lumas, who pick them up in the Comet Observatory. There, Peach learns that she has the same powers as Rosalina, her long-lost older sister. When they touch hands, they can summon the power of the cosmos. She and Rosalina were born from stardust, and Rosalina sent an infant Peach to the Mushroom Kingdom to protect her from an unknown attacker. Fox, Toad, and the Lumas pilot the Comet Observatory to send the other four to the newly-made Planet Bowser. Mario and Peach confront Bowser on a bridge; Mario drops Bowser into the lava moat below, but the latter survives in a skeletal form. Luigi and Yoshi assist Mario in defeating the Bowsers with power-ups, and when one of Bowser Jr.'s creations turn against him, Mario destroys it to save Bowser Jr.'s life. Peach revives a dying Rosalina, and they use their power to terraform Planet Bowser into a new world. Returning to the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi help the sisters, Toads, and Lumas rebuild Peach's castle. Fox sends the Bowsers to prison before heading home to his universe. Back at the Gateway Galaxy, Princess Daisy prevents Ukiki from committing another robbery.
Voice cast
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
