Super Mario Bros. Movie Sequel Will Feature Characters That are "Really Deep Cuts"
Toad actor Keegan-Michael Key has teased what to expect from the second film.
Thus far, details about the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie have been very slim, but some new information has been provided by Keegan-Michael Key. In a new interview with Men's Journal, the Toad actor offered a couple hints about the movie. According to Key, the sequel will be "a little broader in scope" compared to the first movie. It sounds like viewers can expect to see a lot more new characters introduced in the sequel, including a mix of both "old favorites" and "really deep cuts."
"I feel like what they've done creatively is they've really widened out the universe that these characters live in and we're going to meet some new folks. We're going to meet some new folks that are old favorites and some folks that I think are really deep cuts, but because of the way the story's laying itself out right now, those characters are going to be very intriguing," Key told Men's Journal.
The one character we know will have a role to play in The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2 is Yoshi. A stinger at the end of the first movie teased the character's arrival with a green egg hatching in the sewers beneath Brooklyn. That's probably who Key was referring to when he mentioned "old favorites," but the "deep cuts" are a bigger mystery. The Mario series is nearing its 40th anniversary, and there have been a lot of characters introduced across those four decades.
In that same interview, Key mentions "intriguing lore." There were some plot threads left dangling from the first movie, including the backstory of Princess Peach. In the movie, Peach is the only human living in the Mushroom Kingdom, having mysteriously arrived there as a baby. After the first movie's release, ComicBook speculated that a sequel could dive into her history, and touch on story elements from Yoshi's Island DS. If Peach's story is the crux of The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2, Princess Peach's father could be the kind of deep cut Key is talking about. It's worth noting that King Toadstool has only been mentioned in Mario media and has never appeared in a game. That would seem to qualify!
Unfortunately, we probably won't know more until we get closer to The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2's April 3, 2026 release date.
What deep cut characters would you like to see in the Mario movie sequel? Are you looking forward to the new movie? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
