The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is a 2026 animated adventure comedy film based on the 2007 video game Super Mario Galaxy and its 2010 sequel, as well as Nintendo's broader Mario franchise. Produced by Illumination and Nintendo, and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023). Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and written by Matthew Fogel, the film stars the voices of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, and Keegan-Michael Key reprising their roles from the first film, with Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, Glen Powell, and Brie Larson joining the cast. The story follows Mario, Luigi, and their friends who adventure across outer space to rescue Princess Rosalina from Bowser Jr., Bowser's son, who plans to utilize her power to conquer the galaxy.
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 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. It received generally mixed reviews from critics, and has grossed $34 million worldwide against a $110 million budget.
Young Princess Rosalina and her infant sister Peach live together in outer space and have the shared ability to create nature and life. One day, when their home is attacked by an unidentified enemy, Rosalina sends Peach to the Mushroom Kingdom to protect her, where she grows up and becomes the kingdom's princess. In the present, an adult Rosalina raises the star-like species of Lumas as their mother on the Comet Observatory. She is kidnapped by Bowser Jr., who plots to drain her power and use it to fuel a planet-destroying cannon in honor of his father, Bowser, who is imprisoned in Peach's castle.
In the Mushroom Kingdom, brothers Mario and Luigi are hailed as heroes for defeating and shrinking Bowser. They are called to inspect a disturbance in the desert town Tosterena, where they meet and befriend Yoshi. They later attend Peach's birthday ceremony, where Mario gives Peach a new parasol. Mario has feelings for her, but is too nervous to admit so. A Luma who escaped captivity crash-lands in the kingdom and asks for Peach's help; she and Toad accept.
In the Gateway Galaxy, Peach and Toad fight Wart, the king of its casino. Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi protect the Mushroom Kingdom in Peach's absence, which includes rehabilitating Bowser. Peach's castle is lifted into space by Bowser Jr.'s UFO, where he fights the brothers and Yoshi. The castle is accidentally dropped into the Honeyhive Galaxy, where Bowser sacrifices his liberty to allow the three to enter the Gateway Galaxy, where they reunite with Peach and Toad. Bowser is abducted by the UFO, where he reunites with his son.
Peach and Toad hire pilot Fox McCloud to transport the group, but his spaceship crash lands into Fossil Falls after an attack from Bowser Jr., who turns Mario and Luigi into babies with a Super Scope. Bowser feels guilty, having bonded with the brothers, but Bowser Jr. convinces him to return to his role as king of the Koopas. Yoshi finds a Super Scope and rescues the brothers and Toad, who was also turned into a baby, from a Tyrannosaurus, restoring their ages.
Luigi tests a radio, which the Lumas hear. The Lumas in the Comet Observatory pick them up, where Peach remembers her origins. Mario and Peach attempt to sneak into Bowser's base, but are caught and sent to a booby-trapped trench, which they escape from using the parasol. They confront Bowser, whom Mario drops into the lava moat below; Bowser survives as a skeleton. Luigi and Yoshi assist Mario and Peach in fighting the Bowsers. Bowser Jr. summons a dragon, but he is swallowed whole and has to be rescued by Mario. Using their power, Peach rescues and reunites with Rosalina.
Peach's castle is rebuilt and Fox sends the Bowsers to prison before heading home. Meanwhile, Princess Daisy prevents a robbery in the Gateway Galaxy.
Additionally, Juliet Jelenic, daughter of co-director Michael Jelenic, returns as Lumalee, a nihilistic blue Luma who was held prisoner by Bowser in the previous film and now works as a prison guard, while Ed Skudder voices R.O.B., a robot that works at Gateway Galaxy. Princess Daisy makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the film's post-credits scene.
In May 2021, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said that Nintendo was interested in producing more animated films based on its intellectual properties if the then-untitled Mario film was successful. In a Variety cover story before the film's release, Illumination CEO and producer Chris Meledandri was asked about potential sequels, or projects adapted from other Nintendo properties, and answered, "Our focus right now is entirely on bringing the film out to the audience, and at this time, we're not prepared to talk about what's coming in the future." The film's post-credits scene hints at a potential sequel featuring Yoshi. Jack Black has expressed interest in Pedro Pascal being cast to voice Wario in the future film.
In April 2023, following the film's box office success, Nintendo stated that there would be more films based on their properties, though they did not directly confirm a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. 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, Meledandri and series creator Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed development of "a new Super Mario Bros. movie", with Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic returning to direct, and Matthew Fogel also returning to write the screenplay; Meledandri stated that Illumination's team was in the process of storyboarding and "developing set designs for new environments". In October 2024, Keegan-Michael Key teased 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". Producer Chris Meledandri said that, while the Super Mario Galaxy games were the film's core inspiration, it would additionally include "surprises for fans of every Mario era".
In September 2025, during a Nintendo Direct presentation, the film's title was revealed as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. 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 film's score. Two months later, on November 12, a Nintendo Direct presentation for the movie's trailer was released. With the Direct's release, Brie Larson and Benny Safdie were revealed to have joined the cast as Rosalina and Bowser Jr. respectively. Larson had previously expressed being a fan of Super Mario Galaxy in 2020. 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. Days ahead of the film's release on March 27, 2026, Glen Powell was revealed to have joined the cast as Star Fox protagonist Fox McCloud.
The film was animated by Illumination Studios Paris in Paris, France. Production was underway by March 2024, with animation ending in November 2025. In January 2026, Meledandri confirmed that animation had been completed and post-production had begun.
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. 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 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.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is currently projected to top its predecessor's opening weekend, with a $160 million+ 5-day domestic opening and $350+ million 5-day worldwide opening.
It opened on April 1, 2026, with $34 million in its first day, outperforming its predecessor's opening day, which opened with $31.7 million.
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an average grade of 'AâÂÂ' on an A+ to F scale, down from its predecessor's 'A' grade.
Barry Hertz of Globe and Mail stated: "...whereas a cosmic beast like Cthulhu or Azathoth at least possess all-knowing knowledge in addition to their sanity-breaking powers of terror, a horror like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie retains no vaguely redeeming qualities." In a one-and-a-half out of four review, Eli Friedberg of Slant Magazine explained that "the film is an unpretentiously vapid cocktail of big-budget technical mastery and lack of artistic ambition. The visual language is divorced from reality and referent to the games; even Looney Tunes action is grounded in the real worldâÂÂthe better to subvert it." Tara Brady of The Irish Times noticed that "the dynamic between Bowser and his son, and the Frozen-like sisterhood between Peach and Rosalina, are jettisoned as quickly as they are introduced. Subplots remain half-formed. New additions â especially Glen Powell's inexplicably underused Fox McCloud â barely register. The abrupt conclusion feels like an abandonment. At least it's short." William Bibbiani of TheWrap said, "So lacking in substance and purpose that after a while you can't even hear the dialogue over the incessant sound of Aristotle's ghost punching himself." Kevin Maher gave the film a rating of zero out of five stars in The Times, saying that for him, it "provoked periods of actual physical discomfort. I had to stab myself repeatedly in the hand with a pen to distract from the howling distress."
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film one star out of five, calling it a "bland screensaver of a movie that's actually worse than AI", further describing it as "an inert and uninteresting follow-up". Owen Gleiberman of Variety, who praised the previous film, called the film a "frenetic and disappointing sequel", while also stating: "...it almost seems like these talented artists have been body-snatched." Clint Worthington of RogerEbert.com gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four, stating: "This is not a movie to be scrutinised, but to allow beleaguered elder millennial dads to sit their tots down for a precious two hours (if you count the trailers) and get some much-needed rest." Wilson Chapman of IndieWire gave the film a grade of CâÂÂ, stating that while the video game "is filled with moments of euphoric joy," the film "registers as flat, imagination packed into the most cleanly corporate and focus-group approved form possible." In his review for Screen Daily, Tim Grierson stated that the film had "strained humor and cluttered action sequences," also noting: "...too often this Illumination production mistakes visual and narrative busyness for genuine excitement." Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent gave the film two stars out of five, calling it "a joke-free sequel that doubles down on its own blandness." Andrzej Lukowski gave the film three out of five stars, saying that the film was "not deep, but [is] made with love and it hits the spot".