A sequel to the 2023 animated hit, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, is officially in the works. Chris Pratt, who voices Mario in the movie, recently teased what fans can expect from the upcoming sequel.

In an interview with Screen Rant, Pratt shared that there is no shortage of source material to pull from, saying, "Oh, man! There's so much to explore. There are decades worth of [games] to explore, not only with Mario and Peach and Donkey Kong and Luigi and Bowser and Yoshi; that was teased at the end. But it just gets me so excited." The fan-favorite actor also teased the growing Nintendo Cinematic Universe, sharing that he's been "thinking about how everything from Legend of Zelda to the entire Nintendo cinematic universe could be created and what that could look like for all of these characters that I love? I mean, there's really no limit. We could talk about it for hours."

Super Mario Bros. 2 Gets 2026 Release Date

In March 2024, Nintendo announced that a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which grossed over $1.349 billion worldwide, had been officially greenlit and would be released in theaters on April 3, 2026. While plot details remain under wraps, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto teased that the follow-up will broaden "Mario's world further, and it'll have a bright and fun story." The first movie ended with Mario and Luigi (Charlie Day) remaining in the Mushroom Kingdom after defeating Bowser (Jack Black) with the help of Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy).

Many fans noted that Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. 2 announcement did not mention the word "sequel," instead referring to the follow-up as "a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros." This has led many to speculate that the next Super Mario Bros. movie could be a spinoff instead of a direct continuation. A Donkey Movie starring Seth Rogen has been speculated, as has a movie based on the Luigi's Mansion video games. However, many are hoping for a proper sequel, including Jack Black who has been pushing to do a sequel called Bowser's Revenge.

Wes Ball Will Direct The Legend of Zelda

Wes Ball, whose latest film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now in theaters, is attached to direct a live-action Legend of Zelda movie for Nintendo and Sony. The project was announced in November 2023 and will be produced by longtime Spider-Man producer, Avi Arad. While The Legend of Zelda is still in early development, Ball has teased that his adaptation will live up to the video games, promising fans that he will do justice to the franchise.

"I can’t say a lot about it, but Zelda is hugely important to me. It’s up there with Star Wars for me in terms of what shaped me as a kid. Talking about adventure? That’s the thing. And you’re right, it’s like one of the last untapped properties that is dying for a cinematic treatment," he shared in May 2024. "But we’ll see what happens. The expectation game, I got a taste of that with the Maze Runner movies. It was a small fan base, but a very passionate one, and they let me know when I didn’t do it right for them."

The untitled Super Mario Bros. follow-up film is currently scheduled to hit theaters on April 3, 2026.

Source: Screen Rant