Movies based off video games have had a storied history, including a number of notable floops. But the subgenre has had some success lately, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie is arguably one of the best video game movies ever. Fans of the first animated film (which is streaming currently with an Amazon Prime Video subscription) will soon be treated to the sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. And Chris Pratt's two-word description of that project is getting me serious hyped for its arrival.
The first trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy introduced Rosalina to the burgeoning franchise, and we recently got the first clip with Yoshi. While speaking with Hits Radio UK, Chris Pratt described his second movie as everyone's favorite plumber, and he used the same phrase a few times: "next level." As he put it:
I’m really excited about that. It’s going to be next level. Truly. They just raised the bar. I can’t believe – like I got – I’ve only seen a little of it. And, of course, when you’re doing a voice for a movie they’ll show you sequences, but you don’t ever see the full movie until you’re basically at the premiere. I’m just telling you, it’s next level.
Honestly, I'm sold. While the first movie featured plenty iconic Nintendo characters and settings, it seems like we're going to get deeper into the lore with The Super Mario Galaxy movie. Chris Pratt is hyping up the scope of the sequel, and I have to assume that the generations of Mario fans are going to be very eager to see how his comment translate to the big screen.
The first Super Mario Bros. Movie ended up being a billion dollar hit at the box office, so it should come as no surprise that a sequel was quickly green lit. While it's primarily a kids movie, it also looked like it was ripped straight from the games, thus having appeal for adult fans. And adding in fan-favorites like Yoshi and Rosalina should only help the sequel get butts in seats.
Chris Pratt's "next level" comments also track given the first movie's box office haul. Illumination knows that the animated blockbuster can crush in theaters, so it was probably able to throw even more money into the budget for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. This will likely result in even more thrilling action, and cosmic visuals thanks to the cast taking to the stars. Funny enough, the limited footage we've seen so far hasn't featured a ton of the Galaxy part of the sequel.
All will be revealed when The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hits theaters on April 1st as part of the 2026 movie release list. As we get closer to its release, hopefully we see more of the "next level" footage from the highly anticipated video game movie.
