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 Universal Pictures, Illumination and Nintendo. In the film, Mario, Luigi and their friends adventure into outer space, where they face off against Bowser and his son, Bowser Jr. (Safdie) to find and save 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. The critical response has been variously described as mixed or negative. It was a commercial success, grossing $1.013billion worldwide against a $110million 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
Rosalina, the adoptive mother of the Lumas living in the Comet Observatory, is taken by Bowser Jr., who plots to steal her powers to fuel a universe-destroying cannon in his father, Bowser's honor, 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 friendly 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 arrives in the Mushroom Kingdom, where it enlists Peach and Toad to find Rosalina. 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 the 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 after insulting him, but instead offers to take their place for damaging the fields in exchange for the brothers and Yoshi getting transported to the Gateway Galaxy. Bowser is later rescued 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 and his son, who transforms Mario and Luigi into babies with a Super Scope. At first, Bowser "feels" bad over double-crossing the brothers, but ultimately returns to his villainous ways to mend his relationship with his son. Yoshi finds the Super Scope, rescues the brothers from a Tyrannosaurus, and restores them to their proper 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 made from stardust, and Rosalina sent an infant Peach to the Mushroom Kingdom to protect her from the evil forces.
Fox, Toad, and the Lumas pilot the Comet Observatory to send the other four to the newly-made Planet Bowser. Mario and Peach confront a vengeful Bowser on a bridge as he openly reveals his grudge over his humiliating defeat; Mario dunks 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 turns 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, and Peach kisses Mario, much to his delight. Fox sends the Bowsers to jail before heading home to his universe. Back at the Gateway Galaxy, Princess Daisy stops Ukiki from committing another robbery.
Voice cast
Chris Pratt as Mario, an Italian-American plumber originally from Brooklyn Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Rosalina's long-lost younger sister Charlie Day as Luigi, Mario's timid younger twin brother Jack Black as Bowser, the King of the Koopas Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, an anthropomorphic mushroom from the Mushroom Kingdom Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr., Bowser's son and the Prince of the Koopas Donald Glover as Yoshi, a friendly green dinosaur that Mario and Luigi befriend Glen Powell as Fox McCloud, a red fox mercenary space pilot from another galaxy Brie Larson as Rosalina, a princess from outer space, the adoptive mother of the Lumas and Peach's long-lost older sister
Additional voice cast includes Luis Guzmán as Wart, a toad crime boss and owner of the Gateway Galaxy's casino, and Issa Rae as the Honey Queen, a large queen bee who rules the Honeyhive Galaxy. Reprising their roles from the previous film are Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, a Magikoopa serving as Bowser's advisor and informant; Eric Bauza as the blue Toad general in Peach's royal court and Juliet Jelenic, daughter of co-director Michael Jelenic, as Lumalee, a nihilistic blue Luma who was held prisoner by Bowser in the previous film and now works as a prison guard where the Bowsers are sent by Fox. Roxana Ortega voices Ukiki, a monkey thief living in the Gateway Galaxy. Michael Jelenic's two other daughters, Pepper and Virginia Dare, collectively voice the Lumas, Rosalina's star-like adopted children. head of Story Ed Skudder voices R.O.B., a robot that works in the Gateway Galaxy.
Production Development In May 2021, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said that Nintendo would be interested in producing more animated films based on its intellectual properties if the first Mario film was successful. The post-credits scene hinted at a potential sequel featuring Mario's dinosaur steed Yoshi. Jack Black expressed interest in Pedro Pascal being cast to voice Mario's self-declared arch-rival Wario in the sequel.
In April 2023, following the box office success, Nintendo stated that there would be more films based on their properties, though they did not confirm a Mario sequel. In June 2023, Chris Pratt said a sequel would be announced "soon", but with the caveat that the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike would have an effect on the production. In December 2023, Black expressed interest in the sequel being a musical titled Bowser's Revenge.
In March 2024, during a Mario Day presentation, Illumination CEO and producer Chris Meledandri and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed development of a new Mario film with Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic returning to direct and Matthew Fogel returning to write the screenplay. Meledandri said that Illumination's team was in the process of storyboarding and "developing set designs for new environments". In October 2024, Keegan-Michael Key said that the sequel would be "broader in scope" and feature "new folks and old favorites and some folks that [he thinks] are really deep cuts". Meledandri said that, while the games Super Mario Galaxy (2007) and Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) were the core inspiration, it would include "surprises for fans of every Mario era". According to Miyamoto, the sequel was originally planned to be a Yoshi movie, with Yoshi being in Brooklyn. The idea about Yoshi being in Brooklyn was later turned into a montage sequence in the final film. Miyamoto stated that he, Horvath, Jelenic and Meledandri felt that Princess Peach's portrayal as a "strong woman" in the first film "wasn't enough", so she was depicted as having worries, emotions, and relationship fluctuations with Mario to make her more relatable. Miyamoto also stated that the film's fast pacing was intentionally done to keep children and parents engaged.
Casting
Nintendo announced the title The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in September 2025, during a Nintendo Direct presentation. Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Black, Key, and Kevin Michael Richardson were confirmed to reprise their roles from the previous film, with Brian Tyler returning to compose the score. Two months later, on November 12, a Nintendo Direct presentation for the film trailer was released, and Brie Larson and Benny Safdie were announced to have been cast as Rosalina and Bowser Jr., respectively. On March 9, 2026, with the release of the final trailer, it was revealed that Donald Glover, Issa Rae, and Luis Guzmán had joined the cast, with Glover voicing Yoshi in all dubbed versions of the film. For the Japanese dub, the actors were given freedom to improvise their characters' dialogue.
Days ahead of the release on March 27, 2026, Glen Powell was revealed to have joined the cast as the Star Fox protagonist, Fox McCloud. Powell and Glover both pitched themselves for their parts after the first film was released, with Powell particularly being passionate about leading a Star Fox film. Star Fox developer Argonaut Games felt proud upon seeing Fox's inclusion in the film, while character designer Takaya Imamura was "overwhelmed with emotion" and thanked Miyamoto for his inclusion. Miyamoto would later reveal in an interview with Famitsu that the inclusion of Fox McCloud and Yoshi in the movie encouraged development of a new Star Fox game and a new Yoshi game for the Nintendo Switch 2.
Animation and design Like its predecessor, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was animated by Illumination Studios Paris in Paris, France. Production was underway by March 2024, with animation finishing in November 2025. In January 2026, Meledandri confirmed that animation had been completed and post-production had begun. The scene where Fox explains his backstory was animated by Benjamin Faure.
Music
On September 12, 2025, it was reported that Brian Tyler, who composed the score for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, would be returning to compose the score for the sequel. According to Tyler, he composed several pieces of the score for the movie from the hospital without telling the staff. The score is performed by a 70-piece orchestra and features arrangements of themes from the two Super Mario Galaxy games and other installments in the Super Mario series. The soundtrack was released on Back Lot Music and iam8bit on April 1, 2026, coinciding with the film's theatrical release.
Release
Theatrical The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was theatrically released in the United States on April 1, 2026, and in Japan on April 24, in RealD 3D and IMAX formats. It was originally scheduled to be released on April 3. Home media