Everything We Learned In Nintendo’s Direct For The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Nintendo held a special Direct for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ahead of its release in theaters next year on April 3, 2026. Though the Direct clocked in at less than eight minutes long, it was still jam-packed with information. We’ve rounded up everything you need to know in one place – this article here – for easy viewing. 

Everything We Learned In Today’s Direct For The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

To kick things off, Super Mario Bros. creator and movie executive producer Shigeru Miyamoto introduced himself and Chris Meledandri, the CEO of Illumination, the studio behind The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. The duo wasted no time, though, immediately kicking to the first full trailer for the film. In it, we get a look at returning characters like Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach, and Toad, alongside our first looks at new additions in the form of Rosalina and Bowser Jr. 

Check out the new trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie below: 

As you can see, the trailer begins on a stormy night. Inside a castle, we see Bowser painting something, and just after placing the finishing touches, he’s jump-scared by Luigi. In case you forgot, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which hit theaters in 2023, ended with Bowser consuming a Mini Mushroom, shrinking him significantly. Since the events of that movie, it seems Mario and Luigi have been keeping a close eye on Bowser by letting him live in his shrunken-down castle within the confines of Peach’s castle. 

In this scene, Bowser showcases his latest masterpiece, and of course, it’s a totally-accurate-and-not-at-all-exaggerated buff version of himself holding Peach on canvas. We also see that Bowser is working on his anger issues here, but is still struggling with them from time to time. 

From here, the scene with Bowser, Mario, and Luigi ends and we cut forward to Peach and Mario on a balcony of Peach’s castle in the Mushroom Kingdom, watching a strange phenomenon happen in the sky. Dozens of stars burst through the night sky above them as the duo watches in awe (and maybe a bit of fear ) at what’s happening. At this point, the Mario Bros. theme from The Super Mario Bros. Movie begins blasting, and we see Peach and Toad jumping through star-shaped portals, blasting through space, diving through watery planets, and more. 

In this montage, we see Mario and Luigi on a sandy planet, riding motorbikes, towards a familiar desert pyramid, while Peach is busy kicking some butt on a different planet. After this, we get a look at a seemingly powered-up version of Bowser Jr. before cutting away to Rosalina using her special powers to take down a massive mechanized enemy. 

The trailer ends here, reminding viewers that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hits theaters on April 3, 2026. 

New Cast

As you probably predicted, given the movie’s title, it’s no surprise that Rosalina appears in the trailer. She’s the galactic protector after all, and one of the main stars in the Super Mario Galaxy series of games. Meledandri and Miyamoto used this segment of the Direct to debut a new scene of Rosalina reading a special book to her star-shaped friends, the Lumas. After this, Meledandri reveals that none other than Brie Larson (Captain Marvel, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), noted Nintendo superfan, is voicing Rosalina. 

Alongside that new casting announcement, Meledandri attempted to reveal the voice of Bowser Jr., but Bowser’s voice actor, Jack Black, crashed the Direct to do it himself. And the voice of Bowser Jr. is none other than Benny Safdie (Oppenheimer, The Curse, and director of Uncut Gems). We got a quick scene of Bowser Jr. here showing the beloved/infamous Koopa throne heir-to-be donning a more traditional look (versus the purple-glowing, powered-up version in the trailer). 

After that, the Direct ended with Miyamoto and Meledandri expressing their excitement for the film, with the latter noting Illumination is weeks away from putting the final touches on the movie. Miyamoto closed out the Direct by urging viewers to check out the Nintendo Today app for more information, but at the time of this writing, only the Direct has been posted there. 

New Poster

Outside of the Direct, Nintendo and Illumination revealed a new poster for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie that you can see below: 

And that’s everything we learned about The Super Mario Galaxy Movie during today’s special Nintendo Direct. For more, check out the reveal trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and if you’re in the mood for more galactic adventuring, check out the recently released Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 bundle available on Switch and Switch 2. After that, read Game Informer’s review of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.