The sequel to the Super Mario Bros. movie will arrive in 2026

The Super Mario Bros. movie was a huge success for Nintendo, grossing over a billion dollars at the box office, so producing a follow-up film was an easy decision to make. In a new video, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination Entertainment’s Chris Meledandri shared that the the next movie is in developmentwith a release date set for April 3, 2026.

Meledandri says Illumination Studios Paris, which worked on the first film, is storyboarding the film under the direction, once again, of Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. He added that the animation will begin soon. And after the film opens on April 3 in the United States “and many other markets globally,” it will arrive in “select territories” for the rest of the month.

Miyamoto says the film “will have a bright and fun story” that expands on the world established in the first film.

With the November announcement of a live action The legend of Zelda movie, we now have not one, but two confirmed films in development based on Nintendo’s major intellectual properties. There isn’t much information about the company’s theatrical plans for Link. Wes Ball, director of the maze runner trilogy and what’s next kingdom of the planet of the apeswill direct the film, with Avi Arad and Miyamoto producing.

Update March 10, 2024 at 10:20 am ET: Added context on development The legend of Zelda movie.