The latest Nintendo Direct was short and to the point: introducing our first official trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie!
The full Direct can be found above, with the actual stream starting at around 35 minutes. The trailer starts at around 39 minutes and 15 seconds. The Direct includes introductions by Nintendo’s legendary luminary Shigeru Miyamoto, as well as stars of the film, Chris Pratt (Mario) and Jack Black (Bowser).
The trailer features an entire army of koopas on a volcanic battleship landing near an icy town. The town’s citizens, penguins, try to fight back with snowballs. Their defense is hilariously ineffective compared to Bowser’s fire and Kamek’s spells.
Bowser snatches the star as we cut to the Mushroom Kingdom, and the newly arrived Mario. Apparently we’re getting an origin story, with Mario being transported to this world for the first time. He quickly meets Toad (Captain Toad, perhaps?) as the two start off on a fantastical journey.
The last few seconds tease Mario’s brother Luigi running from a group of Dry Bones across a lava river and into a castle.
The film is being produced by Illumination (best known for the Minions series, as well as Sing), and distributed by Universal Pictures. It represents the first collaboration with Nintendo for a feature-length film since the notorious failure of the live-action Super Mario Bros. film in 1993. Though Bowser did have a fun cameo in the 2012 Disney film, Wreck-It Ralph.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is coming to theaters on April 7, 2023.
