Nintendo and Illumination have released the first trailer for the highly-anticipated sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The film, titled The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, will follow Mario and the gang in an outer space adventure.

In the trailer, we see that Bowser is still imprisoned in Peach’s Castle at miniature size after being defeated by the Mario Bros. last movie. He seems to be trying to rehabilitate himself, but it is shortly revealed that he still hates Mario. He says in the trailer, “Still working through my demons, I suppose.” Later on, we see that outer space comes to them, as Mario and Peach watch shooting stars streak across the sky above the castle. Peach and Toad jump into a Launch Star that propels them onto another planet. Throughout the remainder of the trailer, we can see Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad exploring various planets and fighting enemies. Near the end of the trailer, Bowser Jr., voiced by Benny Safdie, arrives at the castle, demanding that his father is released. He says, “I’m Bowser Jr., and I’m going to be taking my father… now!” At the end of the trailer, newcomer Rosalina, voiced by Brie Larson, faces off against Bowser Jr. inside his giant mech suit, Megaleg.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is heavily based on the game, Super Mario Galaxy. The game is a 3D platformer and released for the Nintendo Wii in 2007, instantly becoming one of the highest rated games in the series. It received a sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2, in 2010. The film is pulling a lot from those games, including Bowser Jr. as the primary antagonist and Rosalina as a mysterious new ally. Peach, Toad and Rosalina also use Launch Stars in the trailer, which were used in the games for jumping to different planets. Interestingly, Mario and Luigi can be seen riding motorcycles past inverted pyramids, a sight which is not home to Super Mario Galaxy. Instead, these pyramids are from Super Mario Odyssey (2017), in which they can be found in the Sand Kingdom. This means that the film will likely take inspiration from other games in the series.

The two new characters here both appear in Super Mario Galaxy. Bowser Jr. is Bowser’s prime henchman in the game, although in then game he is helping his dad take over the galaxy instead of rescuing Bowser. He can be seen holding his magic paintbrush in the trailer, which did not appear in Super Mario Galaxy, but has been a part of his design for many of his appearances, starting with his debut in Super Mario Sunshine (2002). Rosalina is a space princess, a cosmic being who serves as the mother of the Lumas. One Luma appeared in one of Bowser’s cages in the first movie, but these baby stars will be much more plentiful in the sequel. Rosalina has some loose magical abilities and commandeers her ship, The Comet Observatory, which is the main hub world of Super Mario Galaxy. The ship can be seen in the trailer when she is fighting Bowser Jr.’s Megaleg on top of it.

Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black and Keegan-Michael Key will all reprise their roles from the first film, with Brie Larson and Benny Safdie joining the cast. It is animated by Illumination again, and will be distributed by Universal and Nintendo. The film is set to release in April of 2026.