The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has officially been confirmed as the тιтle of Nintendo’s upcoming animated sequel, building upon the story of the 2023 box office giant The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The film will seemingly be inspired by the Super Mario Galaxy video games, which introduce a whole new roster of exciting characters to this universe.
Though very little has been revealed about The Super Mario Galaxy Movie‘s plot, it’s safe to ᴀssume that the animated sequel will take Mario and his friends away from the Mushroom Kingdom and into the vast universe above. This leaves plenty of room for characters who weren’t in the first Super Mario Bros. Movie to make their debut here.
Penguru
While Penguru certainly isn’t the most well-known character from the Super Mario universe, he plays a large role in the Super Mario Galaxy video games and seems to have a clear path to being included in the movie. In the games, Mario saves Penguru on multiple occasions, who then rewards him with stars that he can use to power his ship and rescue Princess Peach.
Given the penguins’ inclusion in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it seems very likely that Penguru could make an appearance in the sequel, even if it’s just a cameo. He’s the most important of the penguin characters, appearing in both Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. His inclusion would be a fun Easter egg for longtime fans.
Lubba
Lubba is another recurring character from the Super Mario Galaxy games, but one who may be unfamiliar to those who’ve only played through the main series. He only appears in Super Mario Galaxy 2, in which he captains the ship that Mario uses to collect stars and make his way back to Princess Peach.
Lubba’s simple design and comedic personality make him a perfect candidate to appear in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – especially if the story borrows anything from the second game. He’s such a key element of the story, aiding Mario in his quest to collect the stars and ultimately helping in the fight against Bowser at the end of the game.
The Toad Brigade
There are countless variations of Toad throughout the Super Mario games, and the Galaxy series potentially has more than any other. They appear throughout the series, helping Mario throughout his quest and offering different services that make the player’s experience much easier. Several of the Toad Brigade even take up residence in Mario’s ship.
There have been rumors that Toadette will appear in The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2, but this seems unlikely now that the film’s тιтle has been confirmed. Toadette only appears very briefly in the first Galaxy game, whereas the rest of the Toad Brigade have much larger roles.
The brigade’s members include Mailtoad (who delivers letters from Mario’s allies across the galaxy), Banktoad (who takes care of Mario’s gold coins during the missions), and Hint Toad (who offers key information to Mario as he travels between the different planets). Any of these cartoonish personalities could fit easily into the upcoming sequel.
Honey Queen
Honey Queen, originally named Queen Bee, was first introduced in Super Mario Galaxy, and quickly became a recurring character throughout the franchise. She’s the leader of the Honeyhive Galaxy, which Mario visits during his travels in search of more stars to power his ship. She later appeared in games such as Mario Kart 7 and Dr. Mario World.
Honey Queen’s inclusion in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie seems all but confirmed, as long as the story takes Mario to the Honeyhive Galaxy. This is a fairly long chapter in the game, so it could play an important role in the film. But it’s also something that could be cut neatly from the story if the movie wants to focus on a different stop in Mario’s journey.
Captain Toad
Captain Toad has become such a popular character in his own right that it’s often easy to forget he began as a supporting role in Super Mario Galaxy. First introduced as the leader of the Toad Brigade, this character was later given a new personality and appeared by himself in games such as Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.
Captain Toad is one of the most likely candidates to appear in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – in fact, some theories hold that he already appeared in the first film. The version of Toad voiced by Keegan-Michael Key in The Super Mario Bros. Movie is never confirmed to be Captain Toad, but his design certainly takes inspiration from the Super Mario Galaxy character.
If so, viewers can naturally expect Key’s Toad to reveal himself to be Captain Toad in the next movie. Not only would it make narrative sense to bring this version of Toad back instead of introducing a new one, but without Captain Toad, the movie risks changing huge chunks of Super Mario Galaxy’s story just to bring Keegan-Michael Key back instead.
Yoshi
Yoshi was first introduced in 1990’s Super Mario World, and since then, he’s become an almost permanent fixture of the video game franchise. In fact, the original Super Mario Galaxy is one of the only main-series games in which he doesn‘t appear. However, his absence from the Super Mario Bros. Movie was such a big talking point that his inclusion in the sequel seems inevitable.
Yoshi has appeared in over 200 unique Super Mario-related games since his introduction in 1990.
The post-credits scene of The Super Mario Bros. Movie teased Yoshi’s introduction by showing his infamous green-and-white egg arriving in the Mushroom Kingdom for Mario and Luigi to discover. Even if the sequel doesn’t take place in Mario’s home world, it seems logical that Yoshi will be discovered before the hero leaves, potentially even coming along for the ride.
Thankfully, Yoshi does appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2, so the movie won’t have to rewrite too much of the story to fit this lovable dinosaur into the plot. In the game, he helps Mario reach higher spaces and even converts fallen enemies into Star Bits, which could prove to be an important power.
Rosalina
Save for Mario himself, Rosalina is the main character of the Super Mario Galaxy games. She’s the one who guides Mario through the vast universe, offering him all the resources he needs to defeat Bowser and reclaim the Power Stars stolen from Rosalina’s home in the Comet Observatory.
Rosalina’s introduction in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is essentially confirmed by the film’s тιтle; there is no Super Mario Galaxy without her, and the movie will need her character to push the story forward. There’s been no indication yet of who will play Rosalina in the movie, but expect that to be the sequel’s most eagerly anticipated casting decision.
The Lumas
The Lumas are key allies to Mario as he travels throughout the universe in Super Mario Galaxy, and their existence has already been teased in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The blue Luma that Luigi encounters in the first movie is actually a Lumalee, a specific kind of Luma with the ability to transform into an entire planet.
The inclusion of this nihilistic Lumalee in The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a clear indicator that more are coming in the future, and characters like Rosalina and Captain Toad naturally follow in their stead. The Lumas will almost certainly help Mario in his fight against Bowser in the next movie, just as they do throughout both Super Mario Galaxy games.