The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Was Never Framed As A Sequel
Summary
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is now in theaters, but don't call it a sequel to 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It was never designed to be a sequel to that film or a re-telling of Super Mario Galaxy the game.
In an interview with Polygon, Illumination boss Chris Meledandri said the team kicked around ideas for a follow-up to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and some of the possibilities included a Super Mario World or Super Mario Odyssey movie. However, the qualities of Super Mario Galaxy--including the cinematic and dramatic opportunities--were "immediately exciting," he said.
"Just the whole feeling of the drama that's associated with Rosalina as a character and how that's reflected in the music of Galaxy. That feeling was something we thought could really inform a new story," Meledandri said.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is now in theaters, but don't call it a sequel to 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It was never designed to be a sequel to that film or a re-telling of Super Mario Galaxy the game.
In an interview with Polygon, Illumination boss Chris Meledandri said the team kicked around ideas for a follow-up to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and some of the possibilities included a Super Mario World or Super Mario Odyssey movie. However, the qualities of Super Mario Galaxy--including the cinematic and dramatic opportunities--were "immediately exciting," he said.
"Just the whole feeling of the drama that's associated with Rosalina as a character and how that's reflected in the music of Galaxy. That feeling was something we thought could really inform a new story," Meledandri said.
Mario creator and Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, meanwhile, said he and Meledandri "never framed [The Super Mario Galaxy Movie] as a sequel." Instead, it was envisioned as "the next movie."
"Within our discussion, from the Illumination side, the idea of Galaxy potentially came up. As I thought about it, that could work because the first movie really was about adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom and the next evolution would be to expand the world, go out to the galaxy, and it had a lot of potential," he said.
For The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, although it is not a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Miyamoto said there were some elements from the first movie that could be carried through to the sequel. "All of it kind of fit together," Miyamoto said.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opened in theaters on April 1, and it's already breaking records at the box office. It's not expected to perform better than the 2023 movie, however.
Nintendo won't stop with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, as Nintendo and Sony are teaming up for a live-action The Legend of Zelda movie in 2027. More Nintendo movies could follow later, in part because there is a ceiling on how many people Nintendo can reach through games alone.
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