Predicting the plot of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

The final trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has been released, meaning we’ve probably seen all we’re going to see of the movie until it’s release on April 1st (barring any TV spots that might be released in the interim). We know as much as we can about the movie at this point, which means it’s the perfect time to analyze everything to hell and back.

For those unaware, I’ve been writing various pitches for potential follow-ups to 2023’s Super Mario Movie based on the very vague announcement that Nintendo and Illumination would be making a follow up “based on the world of Super Mario Bros.” I took the vague wording and the avoidance of the word “sequel” in any of the press releases and assumed that this project must be a spin-off and not a direct sequel. This then motivated me to write two treatments for a potential Donkey Kong Country movie and Luigi’s Mansion movie. I was so certain one of these ideas was going to be what Nintendo went for, so imagine my surprise when it was announced that the next movie would be a direct follow up based on Super Mario Galaxy.

This announcement threw a wrench into my plans, as I had intended to write a pitch for a Mario Movie sequel before any news of the actual follow up dropped… but that didn’t pan out. Now I’m pivoting to analyzing the marketing materials for the film and seeing if I can try and predict what this galactic sequel might have in store for fans. I will be using all forms of officially released material to try and make this prediction as accurate as possible including trailers, TV spots, and merchandise so if you’d like to go into the movie knowing as little as possible, I suggest you stop reading now.

Getting right into it, I think the film will start with this scene Nintendo shared when Brie Larson was announced as the voice of Rosalina. Rosalina reading the Luma’s a story about the Princess and the Plumbers not only helps establish that Rosalina is aware of their exploits, but also helps serve as a helpful recap for the audience.

I imagine after the Luma’s urge Rosalina to tell them about the Plumbers, we’ll get a full recount of the events of the first film in storybook form capping things off with the shrinking and capturing of Bowser; this would then segue nicely into the first bit of footage we ever saw for the movie.

Tiny Bowser in his tiny castle trying to make nice with the Mario Bros. feels like a good re-entry point into the movie universe. It helps us get a good idea how things have progressed since the last film but also provides a good parallel to the beginning of the first film as well.

After the Bros. and Bowser part ways, I imagine at this point Luigi will get a call from the Sand Kingdom about their troubled pipes (again like the first film) causing the brothers to spring into action. With a place containing as many pipes as the Mushroom Kingdom, they’ve been kept pretty busy, but they’re making a considerable effort to clear their schedules as Princess Peach’s birthday is coming up (we know this thanks to an official plot synopsis).

We’ll probably get a quick scene of the Princess and the toads readying for the festivities, with the Princess looking somewhat despondent (remember, she has no clue where she came from so it’s very possible this birthday isn’t her actual day of birth but rather the anniversary of when the toads found her). We wouldn’t delve into all this now, as it’s mostly to set up a scene for later.

We then cut to the sewers of Brooklyn from the first movie, where a familiar egg shell lays broken on the floor.

The film would waste little time following up on the first movie’s post credit scene, as Yoshi would be introduced and immediately start taking a tour of the Big Apple.

We know this thanks to a new toy showing Yoshi in a touristy get-up wearing a cap that says “The Big Apple” on it. This will undoubtedly cause some chaos, as many of New York’s citizens will be shocked to see a dinosaur stomping around – especially after the Bowser incident – and would probably not give Yoshi the kindest welcome.

I imagine this is where we’d get a cameo from one of Charles Martinet’s characters, either reprising his role of Mario’s dad or Giuseppe, assuming that Martinet doesn’t get to cameo somewhere else in the movie (hint hint).

After being sufficiently startled by the big city, Yoshi would begin frantically looking for anything that reminds him of home, which would eventually lead him to the Dinosaur exhibit at the Natural History Museum. We know this, again, thanks to toys.

Some sort of mishap will happen that will cause Yoshi to be sucked into the hidden warp pipe in the museum and end up in the temple, causing the locals to call the Mario Bros. This scene with Yoshi could conceivably happy before the Bros. get called to fix the pipes, but I think going from the talk with Bowser, to the phone call, to then seeing Yoshi’s story flows better as opposed to constantly jumping back and forth.

It’s at this point we would cut back to Rosalina with her story time being interrupted by loud noises outside thanks to Megaleg’s arrival. We then get the epic fight scene where it seems like Rosalina has the upper hand, but Bowser Jr. pulls a sneak attack and ends up capturing her.

It’s then we would get this shot fully revealing Bowser Jr. and establishing his ambition: to restore the Bowser name and the Koopa Kingdom, for which Rosalina is the key. After departing with Rosalina in tow, the Luma’s would come outside to discover their mama had been kidnapped.

They, understandably, begin to panic and try to figure out what to do. Eventually, an orange Luma (who I suppose is meant to be a reference to the co-star Luma) looks at Rosalina’s unfinished storybook and makes a plan to set out in search of Mario and friends to seek their aid.

We cut back to Mario and Luigi crossing the desert on their motorcycles and events play out as shown in the Yoshi reveal trailer. The Bros. power-up with fire flowers, find the clogged up pipe, befriend Yoshi, and decide to take him home.

The Bros. then decide to involve Yoshi in their daily rounds of protecting the Mushroom Kingdom after Yoshi stops a runaway chomp.

This leads into a montage of the Bros. and Yoshi working together to save a Blue Toad and helping him get home.

I’m also just gonna go out on a limb and predict that this entire montage will be set to “Walk The Dinosaur” by Was (Not Was). We’ve not gotten any confirmation one way or the other if licensed songs will return for this one, but I’m just gonna assume they’re there until proven otherwise (that’s how you avoid disappointment kids!).

In all seriousness, though, I don’t have an inherent dislike of the licensed tracks in the first movie like others do. A select two minutes of the first film’s score has more game music acknowledgement than other game adaptions have in their full runtime, so one pop song here or there doesn’t bother me. What bugs me is when fully done orchestrated tracks are replaced with a completely random 80’s jam, like how the scene of Mario and co. arriving in Donkey Kong Country had it’s score completely swapped out for “Take on Me.”

Basically, if they planned for the scene to have a licensed track from the beginning, then I’m ok with it. However, if they replace fully done and beautiful compositions for a song that barely makes sense in context, then I’m annoyed. But I digress.

It’s at this point night has fallen and the Bros. and Yoshi head to the castle for Peach’s Birthday. There they meet up with Toad who is as green with envy as Yoshi is green with…himself? That sounded better in my head… The point is Toad is jealous of Yoshi and Mario’s friendship, which seems to be a sticking point throughout the movie.

Take note in this shot of the pink box Mario is carrying. Thanks to context clues, it’s safe to assume this is a present for Peach. What is the gift exactly? My best guess, given the size of the box, is that it’s Peach’s parasol.

(Editor’s Note: While writing this article and extra clip was released confirming Mario’s gift was in fact Peach’s parasol. I considered cutting this following section of speculation, but decided to keep it as proof that I may know what I’m talking about.)

Despite being a prominent part of Peach’s toolkit in the games, the parasol was suspiciously absent from the first movie, but is now all over the marketing for this one.

Given Chris Pratt’s comment in a recent interview about Mario being nervous about taking the next step in his relationship with Peach, I think having Mario be the one to give her the parasol could be a cute way to establish their deepening relationship throughout the film. Even when both are separated, the parasol could serve as a reminder for the bond they share.

I also like how it’s an inverse of what happens in the Mario Galaxy game. Mario gives Peach a present instead of Peach giving something to him.

Speaking of changes from the games, you might be wondering why they would opt for making the celebration in the film Peach’s birthday as opposed to the Star Festival. Well, aside from my earlier stated point of how making it Peach’s birthday helps tie into her mysterious origins, I don’t believe the Star Festival will exist in the movie’s canon.

Note how the characters react when the Star Bits start falling in the final trailer. They all react with confusion and wonder, implying this is the first time this has ever happened.

Also note that Peach and Mario are alone and Peach has the parasol. I think this is the scene where Mario gives it to her and they have a heart-to-heart before the stars start falling. I also think it’s in this star storm that the co-star Luma crash lands into Peach’s room.

While I’ve seen some speculation that this shot between Peach, Toad, and the Luma takes place at the Comet Observatory, I disagree. The furniture and carpet’s excessive use of pink screams Peach’s Castle to me and the moonlight coming in through the back window implies this is at night after the stars have fallen. Also, it’d be weird for Peach to tell Toad to pack their things at the Observatory as opposed to at home, presuming that they would have already been packed by the time they got to the Observatory.

The Luma tells Peach and Toad about Rosalina’s kidnapping and they agree to help, with Peach being extra interested at the thought that there’s someone like her out amongst the stars. I’m not entirely sure why they decide to set off on their own and not alert the Brothers, but I’m pretty confident they do because…

It also should be noted that the lighting of the scene with Mario and the Toads looks like the light of early morning. Contrast that with the night seen in Peach’s scenes and it makes the timeline pretty clear that this scene is taking place the morning after the party.

The lighting also matches up with the scene of the U.F.O. ripping Peach’s castle out of the ground, just like in the game.

Of course, this is when Bowser Jr. really enters the picture and confronts Mario and Luigi to reclaim his missing father.

Around this time, another fight breaks out between Yoshi and Kamek, which is pretty fitting given that Kamek is the closest thing Yoshi has to an archenemy in his series. Kamek is piloting the U.F.O. when Yoshi eats him and lays an egg wearing Kamek’s glasses.

We know this fight takes place at this point because you can see the destroyed Lobby of Peach’s Castle in the background.

I imagine at this point Yoshi tries to pilot the U.F.O. with less than stellar results because…

We know the planet they land on is Honeyhive thanks to the website, and we also know (thanks to a TV spot) that it’s not just the three of them.

I can only assume that during the fight with Jr. someone (most likely Luigi) grabbed Bowser from his cage and hid him well enough that Jr. and Kamek didn’t notice. That, or they DID notice but the mishap with the U.F.O. and the resulting explosion caused them to be unable to retrieve him.

I imagine in the aftermath of Bowser’s failed escape that Mario will press him with questions about why he never mentioned having a son. While Nintendo has tiptoed around the question of Bowser Jr.’s mother for years now, a movie will probably have to address the question head on – but how would they tackle it? My suggestion is the simplest solution: he is simply a child from a failed marriage.

During the first movie, when Bowser attacks Brooklyn, he yells about how we was finally going to be happy marrying Peach when Mario got in the way.

This specific wording seems to imply a rough past for Bowser, one that he was hoping to fix by marrying Peach. Maybe the reason Jr. wasn’t in the first movie was because Bowser’s ex-wife had custody and Bowser rushed the marriage so he could try and get him back? This might seem like a silly thing for the movie to focus on, but other children’s media has tackled the topic of divorce, so I don’t think it’s out of nowhere for this movie to do it.

As for who his mom is, I imagine the answer will just be someone we’ve never heard of before and isn’t important. I could even see them doing the gag where anytime her name is about to be said it gets censored like the waitress in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” or Timmy Turner’s parents in “The Fairly Odd Parents.”

Either way, it seems Bowser is stuck traveling with the Bros., but it’s hard to say for how long. We know he later returns to full size and is reunited with Jr., but it’s unclear when the villains snatch him away. I have a theory of my own, but first let’s check back in with Rosalina.

I’m not confident on the placement of this scene. The marketing team seems to have deliberately hid as much of Rosalina’s role in the movie as possible. It’s fully possible this could happen earlier or later than when I’m deciding to put it, I just think pacing wise this makes the most sense following the big first battle. Mario and Co. got a scene of them licking their wounds, so it only makes sense for the bad guys to do the same.

I feel like this scene takes place on the U.F.O. after it’s been repaired and the chaos from the battle has calmed. I imagine an upset Bowser Jr. commands his troops to search for the Bros. and Bowser, while he tries to get what he needs out of Rosalina.

Given all the machinery in the scene, my best guess is that he wants to drain Rosalina’s star magic to power some sort of machine, presumably the one that’s making an entire planet for him and his father to rule.

Speaking of machinery, there’s something about all this technology that interests me. While Bowser Jr. is no stranger to using technology in his schemes, the design of this equipment – particularly the chair that Rosalina gets strapped too – seem a bit familiar…

The two chairs aren’t 1-to-1, but there are enough similarities that I can’t help but feel like it’s intentional. These movies are no stranger to changing designs while keeping core elements in tact. For instance, compare the film design of the Comet Observatory to its game counterpart.

It also wouldn’t be that out of place for E.Gadd to show up in this movie. Mario Loreheads know that the Magic Paintbrush that Bowser Jr. uses was once originally created by Professor E.Gadd, as revealed in Super Mario Sunshine.

Jr. even goes a step further and says a “strange old man in a white coat” gave it to him, seemingly implying that the two have worked together (assuming Jr. isn’t lying and just stole from the professor).

It would therefore be very clever to bring Gadd into the movie, either as Bowser Jr.’s chief scientist or an unwilling victim forced to work for the tiny tyrant. I could see the plot being that Gadd initially works with Jr. willingly, wanting to push the boundaries of science, but switches sides once he realizes how far Jr. and Bowser would go. Gadd allying with the heroes could also set up a potential Luigi’s Mansion movie later on, which is the main reason I believe this could be happening.

It’s possible that’s why we’ve seen so little of Rosalina’s side of the story, too: it might heavily feature E. Gadd and they want to keep that plot line secret. For all we know, they edited this trailer to hide him! And we know for a fact that previous trailers were deliberately edited to hide Yoshi before his reveal.

The more I talk about this theory, the more convinced I am that it might actually happen. Not only would it make a lot of sense for this movie, but also future Mario movies coming down the pipeline.

I need to change subjects before I get too crazy, let’s cut back to where Peach and Toad end up after flying away from the castle.

Thanks to the new clip on the website, we know that Peach and Toad end up at Gateway Galaxy, which has been transformed into what is essentially an intergalactic airport for this movie. After exploring around they eventually meet up with R.O.B. who works at the information desk, looking for leads on Rosalina.

It’s at this point R.O.B. would point them in the direction of this Cyberpunk looking city we’ve seen pop up in the trailers.

While I’ve seen some speculation that this might be Neo Bowser City from Mario Kart 7, I’m not convinced. I’m sure the design of the city is inspired by Neo Bowser City, but I don’t think the city in the movie will be named after the Koopa King.

My main reasoning is that we actually see the villain’s homebase in other TV spots and marketing material, and it is very clearly currently under construction, whereas all the footage we’ve seen of the Cyberpunk city shows it as well established.

My assumption is that this Bowser Jr. planet will be this movie’s take on the Galaxy Generator from the first Mario Galaxy game: a planet made to be a fortress as well as a massive machine to create whole new galaxies for the Koopa Kingdom to rule.

Speaking of the Koopa Kingdom, I want to take the time to mention a fun fan theory I’ve seen floating around. The theory suggests the Cyberpunk city IS Neo Bowser City, and that it was conquered and created by Bowser before the events of the first movie.

We don’t get much backstory for Bowser in the first movie, just that he’s a war-loving conqueror who is constantly expanding his Kingdom. While we all assumed his conquest was limited to the planet that the Mushroom Kingdom exists on, this fan theory states that maybe Bowser was an intergalactic conqueror.

Essentially, Bowser led a campaign across the universe taking planets and remaking them to his desires, causing his name to become infamous. During his travels, he hears of the Power Star being held by the Penguins of the Snow Kingdom and sets out for the Mushroom Planet. His mission was to claim the ultimate weapon, overthrow the Mushroom Kingdom, and take Peach’s hand in marriage. This would allow for Neo Bowser City to exist as one of the territories Bowser had claimed prior to the events of the first film.

This explanation could also help explain where Bowser Jr. was during the events of the first film. Maybe he was keeping watch over his father’s territories in space, then dropped everything once news of Bowser’s capture reached him. It could also explain why Jr. is making the “Generator” planet before retrieving Bowser: he wants to follow in his papa’s footsteps.

I’m not really confident one way or the other if this theory could be true. While this backstory would give alot of depth to Bowser that was missing from the first film, it could also work perfectly fine without it.

Getting back on track though. While snooping around through the dingy city, an Ukiki steals Toad’s backpack and leads the Princess and the shroom on a wild goose chase to Wart’s Casino.

Why does Wart have Ukiki steal the bag? My best guess is that Bowser Jr. has a bounty out for the capture of Princess Peach, and Wart used the theft to lure her into his Casino as a trap. This is when the big fight breaks out and Wart sicks his army of Ninjis and Mario 2 Bosses on Peach and Toad.

If we don’t get a Charles Martinet cameo in Brooklyn, I think it’s very possible we could see him pop up in this scene. While it’s been confirmed that Luis Guzman will play Wart, it’s fully possible for Martinet to reprise his role as Mouser or Clawgrip, considering he voiced all the male bosses in Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 2

It also makes me wonder if we could see even more Mario 2 love, with the other bosses like Tryclyde and Fryguy showing up as well. No matter what happens, I hope Martinet is able to voice at least one of them.

As for how this scene ends, I’m honestly not sure. Not to get too ahead of myself, but there is a certain later scene that features Toad with the Bros. and Yoshi, but Peach is nowhere in sight. If there were any scene for the two to be separated, it would make sense for it to be this one.

Peach getting captured would also make sense if it meant she could meet Rosalina and start trying to see if she knows anything about where she came from. As stated earlier, we’ve seen shockingly little of Rosalina for a Super Mario Galaxy movie, so all her scenes being stuffed with spoilers would explain why they’re being so tight-lipped.

The issue arises when we see that Peach joins back up with the boys for the final battle, but Rosalina is nowhere to be seen. Needless to say, we’re entering the part of the movie where the timeline is becoming increasingly harder to figure out – though I’m pretty confident on what’s next for Mario and his team.

As stated earlier, we know the Bros. and Yoshi land on Honeyhive Galaxy thanks to the Gateway Galaxy website (the pink flowers match up). Landing there can only mean two things: a potential appearance from Bee Mario/Luigi, and an audience with the Honey Queen.

We already know that Issa Rae will be playing the insect monarch, but Chris Meledandri also described the character as “imposing” when introducing her, leading me to believe that movie Mario might not have as good a relationship with her as game Mario.

My best guess is that maybe Mario and Luigi use the Bee Mushrooms to disguise themselves as Bees to seek audience with the Queen and try and find a way off the planet. Due to either an attack from Bowser Jr. or some other shenanigans, the disguises will be busted and the queen will put the sting on the plumbers, leading to another action scene as the Bros. escape.

I also imagine that the ensuing chaos is when Bowser will be separated from them and taken to Bowser Jr. for an overdue family reunion. Jack Black and Benny Safdie have described Bowser and Jr.’s relationship as being “estranged” in interviews, so I think their reunion would be more like them meeting for the first time again. We’ll explore Jr. and Bowser’s relationship and what it could mean for the film as a whole a little later on.

This is where we enter the portion of the movie where I genuinely don’t know what comes next. The only thing I’m certain about is that the heroes eventually reunite and embark to the final battle against the Bowsers on (what I’m assuming is) the Galaxy Generator.

A recent ad gives us this shot of the team (sans Toad) flying away from the Comet Observatory. The staging of this scene seems to hint that this is the gang setting off for the final battle, but even in a pretty simple scene there are some confusing elements.

First off, where’s Toad? He was flying with Peach earlier, so did he stay on the Observatory as part of the team’s plan or is he captured?

Secondly, how did everyone get to the Observatory? If we’re assuming Peach did get captured, then how did she escape? How do the Mario Bros. know to go there? Did they manage to rescue Rosalina and they returned her home before setting off to finish the fight? Is she the reason they seem to now be able to freely fly through space?

Like I said, we’re past the point of easy explanations now. We’re taking a turn from the concrete to the speculative, and entering…

This is essentially where I’m placing all my miscellaneous theories about the movie that don’t really fit anywhere else in the greater timeline.

I suspect a theme of this movie will be family dynamics. Rosalina is mother to the Lumas, Peach is searching for her parents, Mario and Luigi now have to take care of Yoshi, and (most prominent of all) Bowser has to reconnect with his son. Benny Safdie has stated in a recent interview that Jr.’s main goal is to make his father proud, and I feel like that could lead to some intriguing emotional stakes.

We see that the Bros. are attempting to reform Bowser by having him engage in art therapy while in captivity. While one could argue Bowser is simply going along with this to buy time for someone to bust him out, it does seem like he genuinely enjoys painting and is proud of all the art he made. He snaps at Mario not because his facade is dropping, but because he’s proud of his work and upset that it would be called trash. He himself states he’s still working through his demons, which I think could be foreshadowing to a future development.

As for Jr.’s starting point, let’s take a look at that scene we showed earlier…

Jr. makes a big deal out of restoring the honor of his family name. He knows his dad is prideful of the things he puts effort into (i.e. the paintings) and knows that his image as the feared King Koopa is something he would want protected. This, combined with Safdie’s comment about Jr. wanting Bowser to be proud of him, signals to me that Junior is prioritizing what his father wants over his own needs.

Given their estranged nature, it’s possible Jr. grew up hearing stories about how powerful his father is and was proud to be part of his legacy, and was thusly crushed when he discovered the Mario Bros. reduced Bowser’s image to nothing. He admires Bowser so much that he molded himself to be the perfect heir to the throne, but he’s also inherited his father’s “inner demons.” Some might even call it his… fury.

A recent TV spot gives us a quick look of Bowser Jr. in wonder mode, but with the color scheme of Fury Bowser from the Bowser’s Fury game expansion. While this could just be a reference for the sake of a reference, I think this is very deliberate foreshadowing for the film’s climax as the story of Bowser’s Fury ties back heavily into the relationship between Bowser and Jr.

If you can’t recall, the plot of Bowser’s Fury kicks off when Jr. attempts to play an innocent prank on his pop by painting on his face while he slept. Unfortunately, the magic paintbrush produced black paint which fused with Bowser, transforming him into Fury Bowser. This monstrous, animalistic form attacks indiscriminately, including his own son! Jr. then seeks out Mario’s aid to collect the Cat Shines so he can save his father – much to Mario’s annoyance.

I think you see where I’m going with this. With so many elements of Bowser’s Fury also being present in the Galaxy Movie, I feel it’s a forgone conclusion that Fury Bowser will serve as the final boss for the film – only this time his appearance might not be an accident.

Picture this: while Bowser enjoys finally being able to do all the fatherly stuff he missed out on with Jr. (I’m thinking something similar to the scenes between Ivo and Gerald Robotnik in the third Sonic Movie), he becomes increasingly worried with Jr.’s actual plan of creating his own galaxy. Remember, in the first Mario Galaxy game, Bowser attempting to make his own galaxy caused a massive black hole to rupture that almost destroyed the entire universe. It’s very possible there could be some warning signs that Jr. is ignoring in hopes of pleasing his father.

Tensions reach a boiling point when it’s discovered that the galaxy generator is unstable and that activating the machine would be a massive risk. Bowser, fearing for his son’s life, begs him to stop, but Jr. is too consumed with following in his father’s footsteps. This obsession with Bowser the Koopa King causes Jr. to do something drastic.

Figuring that Bowser lost some of his edge while in captivity, Jr. decides to use his paintbrush to help draw out the sleeping beast, transforming his father into the powerful monster he idolizes.

The problem is when Jr. realizes the father he thought he wanted is not the father he needed. All of Bowser’s fun and goofiness is replaced by a serious and monstrous demeanor. This realization would lead Jr. to helping Mario and friends in the final battle to get his real dad back.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if the film ends with Bowser deciding to take Jr. away on a vacation for a while so they can really get to know each other outside of planning for galactic domination. It might be the therapy Bowser really needs to make a change (especially because I feel the next movie might feature Mario and Bowser teaming up against a greater threat like in the RPG games).

That’s enough about Bowser’s familial bonds, though. Let’s move on to what I’m sure the big mystery of the film will be: Peach’s true family!

Let’s dig deeper into Rosalina’s exact role in the movie, especially in her relationship with Peach. For those unaware, it was revealed that Rosalina was initially conceived to be related to Peach in some way, though no specific details were shared. This fact, combined with Peach’s own search for her family, have made many wonder if they’ll run back this decision for the movie universe. After all, the last movie made Mario and Luigi Brooklyn natives again after Nintendo previously stated that they had always lived in the Mushroom Kingdom.

While it’s very possible that Rosalina could be either a distant ancestor or descendant of Peach due to space time shenanigans, I actually have a different idea that could tie in some long forgotten Mario lore: the Seven Star Children.

The Seven Star Children was a concept introduced in Yoshi’s Island DS: seven special babies blessed with extraordinary power by the stars and destined for greatness. They consisted of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Donkey Kong, Wario, Bowser, and Yoshi. To my knowledge, nothing was ever done with this concept outside of Yoshi’s Island DS, but it has persisted in fan works in spite of that fact.

Given this movie’s heavy focus on the stars and the origins of its key characters, it would make some sense to bring such a concept back. Keegen Michael-Key, the voice of Toad, stated in an interview a while back that this film would have intriguing deep cuts and lore, and this definitely checks those boxes. That’s not even mentioning the fact that 6 of the 7 children are already characters in the film series, so they could even lean into the mystery of who the 7th child is to tease Wario for a future movie if they wanted.

Of course, that’s assuming they copy the lore verbatim, but – as we’ve mentioned earlier – these films are perfectly fine with using the source material as an inspirational jumping-off point. They could change it so that only Peach is a star child, or swap the characters around to make Rosalina or even Toad a star child, or not even use the term “star children” and just say Peach was a gift from the stars. GameXplain even put forward an interesting theory that Peach might be a literal star child as in a reincarnated Luma.

While I’m not sure Nintendo would go this far, it would be an interesting way to retcon the concept that babies come from storks in the Yoshi games and tie that into the space theming of this movie. The main reason I’m a fan of the star child theory is that it would show that Peach’s family were the toads all along.

I’m a sucker for a good story about a character realizing their true family was with them from the very beginning. I think it would be very sweet if after all of Peach’s doubts about her identity and place in the world, she would discover that she was never lost, she was always home.

However, if they do go this route, I’m even more upset that Toadsworth was cut from the movie for seemingly no reason.

I like the thought of Peach having a father figure and I feel they really dropped the ball by not including him in the first movie. Having a character be the physical embodiment of Peach’s love for the toads would’ve really helped push the stakes of the first movie, and could have deepened the emotional impact of this sequel.

Basically, I just want that one scene from Kung Fu Panda 2 with Peach and Toadsworth. Is that too much to ask?

Speaking of parenting and babies, let’s move on to the one set piece that’s left me the most confused…

This is the one scene from the pre-release material that I am having the hardest time placing: the sequence on Fossil Falls.

We know thanks to the website that Fossil Falls is being treated like a separate galaxy/planet, as opposed to part of the Mushroom planet as it is in Super Mario Odyssey. This means that this scene can only happen after the space travel has started. We see Yoshi and the Bros. together, but no Bowser, meaning this must happen after he is rescued by Bowser Jr. (and/or Kamek). And the big confusion arises from the presence of Toad but seemingly no Peach. If they got separated, how did Toad find the others?

Maybe Toad accidentally ends up at Fossil Falls or he hears that the Bros. are there and seeks them out, but we have so little information to go off of that it’s difficult to place. That’s not even mentioning the Baby Bros. in the room.

It’s obvious that the reason the Bros. are babies is to be a nod to Yoshi’s Island, and I’ve seen some concern from fans that they’ll be babies for a large chunk of the runtime, but I’m not too worried about that. All the marketing material thus far that features the babies is set exclusively on Fossil Falls, leading me to believe the toddler trouble will only last for a short period of time. The question is how the Bros. get back to their normal ages. I’ve seen some speculation that the Super Scope looking device might be the key, but if that’s the case then I’m not sure why Yoshi wouldn’t just age them back up at that point.

I’m truly stumped as to where it’s placed in the movie or how the Bros. could return to their normal age. If I missed anything or you have any ideas on how the scene could work please fell free to let me know in the comments!

Moving on from a scene that I had very little to theorize about to a theory that I’m becoming very confident in…

If we’re assuming Peach and Rosalina are captured together during this part of the movie, that would certainly help explain another scene from the final trailer I had difficulty placing.

Lumalee, the depressed Luma from the first film, returns as a prison guard. We don’t get to see who his captives are, but he does refer to them as “maggots,” so it’s safe to assume it’s not just one prisoner. I will admit that it doesn’t make much sense for Lumalee to refer to Rosalina in such a way considering the bond Lumas share with her, but this specific Luma seems to be an oddball so maybe he has no affection for her.

Honestly, the movie’s take on Lumalee has always been confusing to me. In the Mario Galaxy games Lumalee is just a shopkeeper that Mario can buy powerups from in exchange for star bits.

The first movie taking this innocuous character and making him into this existential vehicle for dark comedy was always so confusing to me. We don’t even get any background on why he’s in Bowser’s prison (maybe this could tie into that theory about Bowser being a galactic-level conqueror?) or an explanation to what he is for the audience members who didn’t play Galaxy. He isn’t even acknowledged by any of the other characters save for Luigi, and he gets no resolution other than leading into the main credits.

Well, after doing some digging, I think I have an answer that might make Lumalee key to the movie’s ending – and it all ties back to the Switch rerelease of Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2.

For those who don’t recall, one of the new additions for the Switch ports of these games was additional pages to Rosalina’s Storybook and the creation of a brand new storybook for Galaxy 2 that was not present at all in the original release.

This new story (which is posted above) does not focus on Rosalina like the first game’s book, but rather twin Lumas named Mari and Lu (very subtle…).

To make a long story short, one day the twins become separated when Mari became a star and Lu is left depressed at the loss of her twin. Rosalina informs Lu that they may meet again one day, but it’s impossible to say how long that will be, which causes Lu to remain a Luma and set off on a quest to find Mari.

It’s eventually revealed that Lu becomes Lubba, the captain of the Starship that Mario finds at the beginning of Galaxy 2 and Mario’s companion throughout that adventure. While the first 3 chapters are dedicated to giving us long awaited Lubba lore, the final chapter switches focus to Mari – and let’s just say her look and manner of speaking is shockingly familiar.

When i rewatched the Galaxy 2 storybook for this article, I was blown away at how similar Mari and Lumalee are. I remember when I first read them thinking there was some connection but now, given what we know now about the movie, I’m more confident than ever that this was Nintendo’s attempt to canonize the movie’s take on Lumalee as a separate character named Mari.

It should be noted that the only reason we know the Luma in the first movie was named Lumalee was due to merchandise and the credits; their name is never stated in the film itself. Meaning if Illumination wanted to retcon the character into being Mari, they definitely could.

Why am I focusing so much on this? Well, it relates to one of the last things Mari says in her portion of the story and how it could tie into an iconic moment in Super Mario Galaxy’s ending.

A fan-favorite moment that many have wondered might make the jump to the big screen is the mass Luma sacrifice seen at the end of the game. It’s an extremely poignant moment that ties into the themes of the cycle of life and death that hang heavy over the first Galaxy game, and some have feared that the movie might chicken out from such a heavy moment.

I think they will instead refocus the sacrifice of all the Lumas into a sacrifice just from Lumalee/Mari. Much like how Bowser and Bowser Jr. are mending their estranged relationship, Rosalina could mend hers with one of her wayward stars. How you may ask? I imagine through telling them about her backstory.

If Mari truly doesn’t remember what a mama is and the important bond they share with their children, there’s no better way for Rosalina to explain it then by telling the story of how she came to power. Not only would this help Mari cope with the loss of Lu after hearing of Rosalina’s grief, but it could also help Peach understand that family isn’t defined purely by blood.

Mari’s confusion about what it means to help someone special seems like a setup for a tragic moment where, after reforming a bond with Rosalina, she must sacrifice herself for the sake of the Galaxy.

I also can’t help but wonder if this means will get an appearance from Lubba in this movie.

Honestly, with how stuffed the movie already appears to be, I can’t see her appearing for anything more than a quick cameo or reference. Maybe before Lumalee/Mari sacrifices herself she could see a slight glimmer of purple light out in space, something that general audiences wouldn’t think much of, but those of us in the know would understand.

I also can’t help but wonder if all the recent love for Galaxy and the Storybook ending with Mari seemingly finding Lubba is Nintendo hinting at finally doing Super Mario Galaxy 3… but that’s a discussion for another day.

So, with Peach’s origins as the big revelation, Fury Bowser as the big final battle spectacle, and Lumalee’s sacrifice as the big emotional climax, I think I’ve said all I need to say about the upcoming movie. Well, all except for what I think might come next!

You’d be hard pressed to find a franchise film nowadays that doesn’t include a mid and/or post credits scene to hype up what’s coming next. The last movie teased Yoshi’s involvement in this one, so now I’d like to take a crack at what we might see coming next.

At the end of Galaxy 2, the baby Luma steals Mario’s cap when he rushes off to rejoin with Rosalina and I think a similar thing could happen at the end of this film. We know from the clip with Rosalina that the Lumas seem to be big fans of the plumbers so it wouldn’t be shocking if after the Bowsers are stopped the Lumas playfully take off with Mario’s hat in tow. This would tie into the post credits scene.

Even if it doesn’t play out this way, I’m 90% confident Wario will serve as the main antagonist for the next movie. While I know there were some leaks claiming he would be in this movie, I personally feel like we would have seen him by now either in a trailer or through leaked merchandise.

Anyways, that’s pretty much all the ideas and speculation I have about The Super Mario Galaxy Movie prior to it’s release. Here’s hoping they don’t release anymore clips from now until the film’s release that completely invalidates any of the points I made! Aw, I’m just kidding. Half the fun of speculating is the chance you might be wrong! I was already pretty excited for the movie to begin with but putting all my thoughts to the page has really hyped me up for what we could see come April 1st.

Whether I’m right or wrong all I can say is…

ADDENDUM: If you’ve been keeping up with news on this movie you’re no doubt aware that Nintendo has confirmed Fox McCloud of Star Fox fame will play a role in the film. There was some speculation this could happen due to Fox seemingly being partially viewable in a released clip, but I admittedly had written it off and never mentioned it in my theory-crafting. I’m going to attempt to wipe the Yoshi egg off my face and speculate briefly on what role Fox could play in the film.

Let’s start with the obvious thing; this is going to be a set up for a Star Fox film. We know the movie has two confirmed post-credit scenes, and I’m positive one will be to set that movie up. I also think we’re going to get Fox for this movie alone and then we’ll have to wait for the hype train to find out casting for the rest of Team Star Fox (Michael Rooker as Peppy, please).

As for Fox’s role in Galaxy, while I definitely think he’ll get more than a cameo given he received his own poster, I don’t think he’s going to be a main character. I imagine something similar to how Spider-Man was handled in Captain America: Civil War; one scene introducing the character, one scene of the character helping the main cast in an action set-piece, and one post-credit scene teasing the solo project. Given my constant confusion on how the characters (particularly Toad and Peach) separate and meet back up again in my earlier speculation, I imagine Fox ferrying the characters around the cosmos could help explain those inconsistencies.

Anyway, barring anymore surprise announcements, that’s all I have to say about the Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Please Nintendo, I’m tired!!