Super Mario Bros. Movie Sequel Reveal Is Disappointing for 2 Classic Characters Everyone Wants To See

The April 2026 sequel to 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie finally has a name: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. With this reveal, it’s clear that the next step of Illumination’s film adaptation of this Nintendo franchise will take the characters into outer space in a feature taking cues from the beloved 2007 Wii game Super Mario Galaxy. This also promises to give moviegoers a radically different sci-fi feature compared to the 2023 Mario Bros. Movie, which was rooted in fantasy. Plus, given how critical Yoshi was to Super Mario Galaxy 2, it seems like this storyline will naturally follow up on the first film’s post-credits tease of Yoshi entering these motion pictures.

Unfortunately, however, fans of two especially legendary Mario characters apparently are out of luck with this new installment. It’s doubtful the cosmic-set adventure of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will have any room for Wario and Waluigi’s inaugural big-screen debut.

Where Are Wario & Waluigi?

Wario first debuted in the 1992 game Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, while it would take another eight years for 2000’s Mario Tennis for Luigi’s evil counterpart, Waluigi, to make his debut in the Mario video game canon. Since then, the characters have become beloved by fans all over the world. Wario has headlined several standalone games, while Waluigi is a beloved internet figure, both on an ironic and sincere level. The two have appeared in various Mario video games, including the big Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games installments.

The pair were left out of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but that wasn’t surprising given the feature also excluded major Mario universe characters like Yoshi, Birdo, Rolsaina, Chain Chomp, and others. Any hopes that a sequel would feature the duo seem to have been dashed by the announcement that this sequel will take cues from Super Mario Galaxy lore. The primary villains of these Galaxy games were Bowser, while the two Galaxy titles were crammed full of lore related to the cosmos. They had no time for Wario and Waluigi, and it’s doubtful a second movie will have time for the duo while introducing sci-fi elements into this saga.

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This is despite actors like Jack Black previously talking publicly about their hopes for Wario showing up in a sequel (and, in Black’s case, being voiced by Pedro Pascal). Wario, meanwhile, is one of the biggest and most persistent of Mario’s foes. These elements haven’t been enough to change the creative trajectory of this Illumination saga, though; for now, these characters are not a priority for The Super Mario Bros. Movie franchise.

Wario & Waluigi Reflect Illumination Playing The Long Game With Mario Movies

Illumination is clearly playing the long game with its plans for Mario on the big screen. The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023 shattered box office records and became, at the time of its release, the third biggest animated movie in history at the worldwide box office. It was an incredible feat, reflecting how much passion existed for Mario decades after his video game debut. The box office numbers undoubtedly led to Illumination and Nintendo executives wanting to keep this franchise going for years and years, rather than being a short-lived flash-in-the-pan like the original Paranormal Activity movies or the Secret Life of Pets saga. Thus, Wario and Waluigi being held back from The Super Mario Galaxy Movie can be seen as a way of ensuring there’s tons of new material and characters to explore even after this cosmic adventure is done. Illumination doesn’t want to blow through all the fan favorite Mario characters and worlds in just two movies.

If The Super Mario Galaxy Movie amasses even a fraction of the box office The Super Mario Bros. Movie scored, then further follow-ups will come down the pipeline. Don’t be surprised if such projects eventually involve Wario and Waluigi, likely in a storyline entirely centered around their introduction (rather than having to share the screen with Super Mario Galaxy mythology). Even with that inevitable reality, it’s understandable if die-hard Wario and Waluigi fans still feel frustrated that these beloved video game baddies are taking forever to get in on Mario’s movie exploits.

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