Nintendo, in collaboration with the American animation studio Illumination, has announced a new Super Mario Bros. film, scheduled to launch somewhere in April 2026 globally.
We are finally going to see Mario and Lucio once again on the screens, this time coming in a new sequel to the original “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which was a massive hit at the box office and generated a whopping 1.3 billion dollars in 2023. To keep up with the hype, Illumination has decided to enter with a new film of the franchise, although their announcement hasn’t mentioned the word “sequel”; hence, it is presently unclear whether it would be a direct sequel from a plot standpoint.
In terms of the details of the movie, it is reportedly going to be filmed by Chris Meledandri, founder and CEO of Illumination, along with Nintendo’s representative director and iconic personality, Shigeru Miyamoto. It will be directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and written by Matthew Fogel, just like for the previous Super Mario Bros. Movie. Moreover, the project is expected to be co-financed by none other than Universal Studios, and they will be responsible for theatrical distribution as well. Hence, the project is indeed going to be exciting.
We haven’t seen any details of what to expect from the film, as it’s still very much kept under cover, but judging by the track record of Illumination, it has a solid chance of being another banger. The film is expected to be released in theaters by April 3, 2026, in the U.S. and other global markets, so we must wait over two years to experience Mario and Lucio’s next adventure.
Meanwhile, Mario fans will be able to have fun with the remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, due to be released on the Nintendo Switch on May 23.
