What’s Going On With The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2? Keegan-Michael Key’s Update Should Excite Die-Hard Nintendo Fans

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As a gamer who has spent countless hours traversing the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond in various incarnations of Super Mario, I can confidently say that the upcoming sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie is shaping up to be an absolute masterpiece. Keegan-Michael Key’s recent revelations about the film have sent my excitement levels through the roof, especially his mention of the movie taking place in intriguing lore and exploring familiar settings with a slew of video game references.

Since we’re not getting a sequel to “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” until after 2025, it’s completely understandable for fans to fantasize about having a time-controlling musical instrument like in “The Legend of Zelda“. (For those who thought, “Why not just use Mario’s Time Machine?”, kindly step aside.) Fortunately, one of the stars, Keegan-Michael Key, has given us some fresh insights that are sure to excite fellow longtime fans as much as they do me about this upcoming video game adaptation.

Toad, the jovial resident of the Mario universe, is voiced by an actor from the popular comedy duo, Key & Peele. He’s as essential to the Super Mario franchise as Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach, so it’s logical that the actor would have access to most, if not all, scenes and locations in the upcoming movie. It seems that at least one well-known setting from the video game will be featured on the big screen, along with numerous references to the games. As Key expressed it:

The second film, I must admit, offers a larger canvas and the setting is quite fascinating when it comes to Mario universe lore. It promises to unearth some truly captivating hidden references, and the experience has been thrilling thus far.

Whenever someone mentions “lore” about Shigeru Miyamoto’s Mario Bros. franchise, it stirs an irresistible urge to set aside all other duties and delve deep into understanding the origins and achievements of this creative genius. However, reality doesn’t often cooperate, so we must content ourselves with exploring it in bits and pieces, rather than getting completely engrossed.

Still, such speculating seems to be a warranted concept, as Key continued to tease how the second film will incorporate elements from the nearly 40-year-old video game sereis. As he put it:

It seems they’ve significantly expanded the world where these characters reside, introducing both familiar faces and lesser-known ones. These new characters promise to be fascinating due to the current direction of the storyline.

I really agree with what he said, and it seems reasonable to suggest that he might be hinting at the sequel exploring territories beyond the Mushroom Kingdom, even venturing into outer space like in Super Mario Galaxy – a theory I proposed back in March when Miyamoto mentioned expanding the world as a teaser.

“In the spirit of interpreting it literally, ‘expanding the universe’ refers to an idea often found in video games that wasn’t prominently showcased in the first Super Mario Bros. Movie. Given the abundance of easter eggs and references already included, adding a talking star character might have been too much for the audience to absorb at once. However, with the movie raking in over a billion dollars at the box office, it seems even the sky is not the limit moving forward.

In this digital era where every nook and cranny of a game franchise like Paper Mario or Super Mario RPG has been thoroughly explored by countless streamers, it’s challenging to find characters less mainstream. Yet, I’m eagerly awaiting more obscure references from these games if anyone’s listening to me.

In case you’re looking forward to “The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2” which is scheduled for a theater release on April 3, 2026, don’t forget to keep an eye out for the new Nintendo Switch game, “Mario & Luigi: Brothership“, due for launch on November 7 as well!

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2024-10-02 20:07