The Super Mario Bros. Moviehas taken the world by storm, breaking a number of box office records and exciting many fans of the Illumination movie over what could come next for the franchise on the big screen. While many fans are looking forward primarily to aMariosequel, there are a lot of other possibilities for where the franchise could go next.
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A plethora ofMariocharacters were introduced inThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, and itwould be easy for Illumination to move forwardwith some of these other characters for their own movies. It is also possible that another Mario-focused movie could take a complete turn for the franchise.
6Luigi’s Mansion
Luigi didn’t get as much focus in an adventure sense inThe Super Mario Bros Movieas some of the other characters. While Peach, Toad, and even Donkey Kong joined Mario on his adventure as he sought to take down Bowser, Luigi spent a great deal of the movie in a literal cage. As such, it wouldn’t be surprising to seea sequel or spin-off which gives Luigi his own focus.
The Super Mario Bros Moviedid a great job of showing off various Easter Eggs and references to other Mario and Mario character games. It even nodded toward Luigi’s own somewhat horror-focused game series,Luigi’s Mansion. While this adventure initially involved Luigi trying to find Mario in a haunted house, the various realms introduced inThe Super Mario Bros Movieprovide an easy method for Luigi to get lost on his own adventure in a future spin-off movie with a really fun aesthetic and theme to it.
5Super Princess Peach
Anya Taylor-Joy is a huge star who will likely be a Hollywood mainstay for many years, so it isn’t surprising that her casting as Peach led to a larger role for the Princess than she would often receive inMariogames. Her role as a mentor to Mario and a companion to him in his big-screen adventure is a far cry from the Peach of old, who was often captured by Bowser and hardly shown throughout the game.
Fortunately, there is a template for bringing this version of Peach to the forefront in her own big-screen adventure.Super Princess Peachwas a video game released for the Nintendo DS in 2005 which featured Peach rescuing Mario and Luigi from Bowser in a reversal of the normal damsel in distress trope. It would be exciting and even logical after seeing how capable Peach’s character was inThe Super Mario Bros Movieto have a spin-off featuring Peach in her own adventure.
4Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong was a character who got plenty of focus in the second half ofThe Super Mario Bros Movie.Seth Rogen is another big starwho was brought in to voice a classic character, one who interestingly is better known for his own spin-off franchise these days than he is for having been involved with Mario.
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Donkey Kong and his family have a whole world,which was shown off quite wellthroughoutThe Super Mario Bros Moviein an exciting sequence. Establishing key Mario components like the old school level in the battle arena and the karts that the Kong people use as part of their lore makes it all the easier to potentially have a film focused onDonkey Kong Countryand the big ape’s other video game adventures.
3A Bowser Musical Movie
One character featured inThe Super Mario Bros Moviewho doesn’t often receive a lot of focus as a protagonist is Bowser. Jack Black’s hilarious performance as the fiery turtle has garnered a lot of praise, with many fans and critics alike saying that Black was the stand-out of the movie.
This being the case, it would be surprising if future Mario projects leave Bowser in the predicament he finds himself at the conclusion ofThe Super Mario Bros Movie. Instead, if not returning as a villain to trouble Mario and his friends further, Bowser should get the chance to appear in his own project. It could perhaps be musically focused somehow,given the great success of the Peaches songfeatured in the movie. Alternatively, it could be a villainous adventure similar to other recent movies likeJokerandMorbius,which have focused on villains as anti-heroic characters.
2Yoshi’s Story
Yoshi didn’t appear inThe Super Mario Bros Movie, technically. Although thepost-credits scene may have teasedthat the lovable green dinosaur will be appearing at the earliest opportunity, the role that Yoshi will play in the franchise is, as yet, unknown.
This doesn’t mean that Yoshi will be restricted to just being a sidekick for Mario, though. In the past, the adorable Yoshi has found great success in games likeYoshi’s StoryandYoshi’s Island. These games provide excellent templates for how Illumination could build a future Yoshi movie. Quite apart from anything else, their history with Minions spinning out from the Despicable Me franchise proves that Illumination loves this type of character.
1Super Smash Bros
There have been a lot of rumblings since the release ofThe Super Mario Bros Movieabout what this franchise and the potential for other similar movies could be leading to. While there are a lot of great stories fromMariogames that can unite many characters together, the biggest adventure and largest potential cinematic crossover in history would beSuper Smash Bros.
A fighting game thatcontains a huge number of charactersfrom a variety of gaming franchises, includingMario,Zelda, andFinal Fantasy,to name but a few,Super Smash Brosis the ultimate dream movie for many gaming fans. It could happen, albeit in some limited form, as it would be difficult to introduce every character who has appeared in theSuper Smash Brosfranchise to date.
The Super Mario Bros Moviewas released on April 5th, 2023, and is currently available in cinemas.
