The Super Mario BrosMovie is just about here as Nintendo’s most famous characters are set to make their return to the big screen for the first time in over twenty years. Mario and Luigi were previously depicted in a live action film, but Nintendo opted to go with animation this time around, a decision that feels more fitting given the fact that these characters and the world are rooted in video games. As the promotion for the new film has ramped up, the cast and crew have been open about the plans for future films in the Mario franchise, perhaps even a cinematic universe of sorts.
A successful cinematic universe is arguably the most coveted thing in Hollywood right now, and the characters at Nintendo’s disposal are certainly capable of leading such a franchise, particularly as the games all have spin-offs and offshoots of themselves. In the games, Luigi takes center stage in Luigi’s Mansion, a series of spooky adventure stories. If a cinematic universe were to come to fruition, a Luigi solo film feels like a no-brainer, as does a Luigi’s Mansion adaptation.
Mario is obviously at the center of this world, but there are plenty of other incredibly popular characters that could be focused on, thus lending more evidence to a possible cinematic universe. There are Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, Bowser, Princess Peach, and countless other characters that fans and players of these video games are clearly interested in. There’s also the fact that Mario is often at the center of the story of a Nintendo game but in a different setup. There’s Super Mario Galaxy, a more solo journey across different worlds, as well as less linear ventures such as Mario Party and the various sports-themed games. That means that there are not only new characters that can be focused on as this world is expanded, but entirely different genres and tones that can be explored as well. Nintendo could make an adventure story, a sports movie, or even something a little bit darker and Amblin horror-like with Luigi’s Mansion.
Luigi’s Mansion was one of the first video games in this world to be without Mario, so Nintendo clearly looked to his green-wearing brother as a source of new storylines moving forward and branching out from Mario. If the new Mario film is successful, that could be the first step made on the movie side of things as well, and for good reason. Mario is still the center of the plot as his brother Luigi searches for him, so his presence is still very much felt throughout, and if there is a larger plot line at play, like the sort of story that the MCU would tell, Luigi’s Mansion could easily tie into that.
As mentioned, these potential spin-off films have the ability to switch up the tone of the proceedings in order to freshen things up. That’s something that the MCU has been criticized for as of late, as the tone has largely remained the same across all projects, even the ones that appeared to lend themselves to more of a darker style, so a Mario universe could be wise to avoid that and instead opt to diversify things more.
Luigi’s Mansion is arguably the best project to do such that, as it would retain the heart of the classic Nintendo franchise will still deviate enough to make things fresh and original. Despite some hefty criticism from certain sects of the fandom, Star Wars has largely changed up tonally and directionally in recent years, as demonstrated by the fact that Andor and The Mandalorian season 3 released just a few months apart. Those shows could arguably not be more different, so although Luigi’s Mansion would not deviate quite so much from the other potential stories in the world, it would be enough to give audiences something new to watch.
There is also the fact that horror is an extremely popular genre right now. Movie theaters are facing an uncertain future as the growth of streaming services continues, and it seems that the only other big films that can make it onto the big screen are either huge franchises set in space or a superhero world or a low-budget horror story. While Luigi’s Mansion isn’t exactly horror, it does have some spooky elements and represents more of an Amblin horror approach geared more towards kids and a family audience.
For now, though, it appears that the new Mario movie is set to do quite well at the box office. Insiders suggest that the film could reach over $200 million worldwide in its first weekend, representing a huge gross that would almost certainly signal sequels being green-lit very soon. So far, the reviews have been lukewarm with the film sitting in the 40s on Rotten Tomatoes, but if audiences take to it, then it seems like only a matter of time before Mario appears again.