In this week’s newsletter: To win over the critics, the second installment of the $1 billion box office hit should focus more on the storyline than on nostalgic iconography.
With its classic, albeit ill-timed, timing, Nintendo chose March 10th—or Mar10 Day, as the company likes to call it—to announce that it’s working on another Mario movie with Illumination Studios, even though that day coincided with the Oscars, and absolutely no one paid attention to it. Last year’s Mario movie was a hit, raking in $1 billion and ultimately putting an end to the long era of cursed video game adaptations. It’s not surprising, therefore, that another film is in the works for April 2026.
What is surprising, though, is that it might not necessarily be a direct sequel. Co-directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, along with writer Matthew Fogel, will return, but neither Nintendo nor Illumination have committed to labeling the new film as a sequel. In a video announcing “a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros,” Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto (that’s Mario’s father) said, “This time, we’re thinking of expanding Mario’s world, and it will have a bright and fun story.” Despite its overwhelming popularity, the Mario movie failed to impress film critics, who were, in many cases, extremely harsh. Jack Black, who delivered undoubtedly an energetic performance as Bowser (unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Seth Rogen’s Donkey Kong), felt compelled to defend it in a recent interview with Total Film magazine: “They showed it to me a month before it came out. I’m laughing and smiling throughout the whole movie. And then it comes out and gets terrible reviews. I’m like, ‘What movie did they watch?'”
I found the movie okay—sure, commercially successful, mildly dull kid-friendly entertainment that at least managed not to actively destroy the legacy of the games it’s based on. It’s far from terrible, and I say that as someone who’s endured more terrible video game adaptations than most. But there’s still plenty that could be done better, and I hope a sequel will be an opportunity to build on the first film rather than squeezing out the same old Mario iconography and nostalgic sound effects until they’re as dry as Dry Dry Desert.
There are many aspects of Mario’s—forgive me—expanded universe that we didn’t see in the first film; for one, there was no Yoshi and no Wario (and, if we’re going deep, no Birdo). But another shuffle of characters and references isn’t what we need from the next film. I’d like to see something a little more like Detective Pikachu, which exists within the recognizable world of Pokémon but still does its own thing within it. You know, something with a plot. Mario isn’t necessarily known for its plot—as a game, it’s almost entirely vibe-based, and for decades, Miyamoto and other leading creatives at Nintendo have been extremely wary of cutscenes and other non-gameplay narrative techniques borrowed from the film industry. But Mario’s lack of lore could be an advantage because it gives filmmakers the opportunity to bring something new to the table, something better suited for linear media. Many terrible video game movies are terrible because they get bogged down in plot or background details that players can spend 30 hours delving into. Mario doesn’t have all that, and one would hope it wouldn’t be too difficult for Illumination and Nintendo to tell a good story set in the Mario world that isn’t just an excuse to introduce 35 different long-lost Mario characters in rapid succession.
There’s also the possibility of taking Mario out of the Mushroom Kingdom, as the games have been doing for some time now: A movie based on Mario Galaxy could be a genuine visual spectacle. But there’s still plenty to explore on Mario’s home turf. With such a tremendous success behind them, I’m cautiously optimistic that they’ll be a little more ambitious next time around. What to play A recommendation from Keith this week, because I’m currently playing something I can’t talk about.
He says: “Tired of racing games that want you to speed around at top velocity? The oddly named ‘Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game’ is the simulation for you. Here, you’ll drive a selection of beefy off-road vehicles through marshy forests and slurpy bogs, lowering tire pressure or using a winch to gain as much traction as possible. Unlike the two previous games in Saber Interactive’s slow series, you’re not just completing endless pickup tasks—instead, you’re exploring larger landscapes and trying not to bumper-first into a bottomless bog. At times, it’s ridiculously tough, but also fun and rewarding, offering much more of an intellectual challenge than your average arcade street racer.”
Available on: PC, PS4/5, Xbox, Switch Estimated playtime: 30+ hours
What to read The WSJ reports that former Activision boss Bobby Kotick
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