Image: Nintendo
The $1.3 billion-grossing Super Mario movie is getting a sequel.
Ahead of this week’s Nintendo Direct, Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto announced a firm release date for the upcoming sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie: April 24, 2026 in Japan. However, the movie will be released a little earlier in the US on April 3, 2026, with varying release dates for, “other countries and regions," in the same month.
Importantly, Miyamoto also confirms that the sequel will be ‘fun’.
Nintendo announces release date for The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2
It’s no surprise that Nintendo and animation studio Illumination are hard at work on a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. After all, the first movie was a juggernaut title in the 2023 box office, smashing records to become the second-highest-grossing movie of the year. It also scored the biggest opening weekend for an animated film and became the highest-grossing movie adaptation of a videogame ever. Only Barbie managed to beat it in the 2023 box office, having earned $1.4 billion worldwide against its $1.3 billion.
Still, that’s a lot of money. Ahead of this week’s eventful Nintendo Direct presentation, Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto used Nintendo’s official Twitter/X account to announce that The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s untitled sequel will hit theaters on April 24, 2026 in Japan. According to the translated tweet, Nintendo is, “working with the Illumination team to make it a fun movie.”
The movie will be released in the U.S. and many other regions in the world a little earlier, on April 3. It's being co-produced by Illumination’s CEO Chris Meledandri and Miyamoto, while Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic direct. Matthew Fogel is writing the sequel’s script, rounding out the entire returning creative team from the first movie.
While The Super Mario Bros. Movie didn’t exactly blow me away, it did deliver strongly on the fan service front. The movie had plenty of easter eggs and nods to the games to please longtime fans, and its strong voice cast and animation work likely made it appealing to newcomers. With $1.3 billion under its belt, it obviouly managed to strike a chord with moviegoers - but where is Nintendo planning to take these iconic characters next?
The Super Mario franchise is much more than its flagship platforming series alone, so it would be interesting to see a sequel tackle spin-off games like Paper Mario and Luigi’s Mansion. Until the movie arrives in 2026, all we can really do for now is speculate.
This week's Nintendo Direct also gave us reveals for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Mario & Luigi: Brothership and Metroid Prime 4.
