Super Mario Bros. Movie Gets Bad News Direct From Creator Miyamoto

Producing a video game movie that satisfies both moviegoers and fans of the source material is an arduous task. Oftentimes, filmmakers ignore the essence of the games and implement a brand-new vision for the screen, which sometimes results in no one being satisfied. As such, video game movies are synonymous with failure, even though that's not always the case. Despite getting a bad rap among many viewers and critics, video game adaptations tend to perform well at the box office, so it's understandable why Hollywood keeps churning them out.

The original "Super Mario Bros." movie certainly did do much to boost the reputation of video game adaptations. Released in 1993, the film was widely disliked by audiences and critics alike, as evidenced by its scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Of course, "Super Mario Bros." is nothing like the colorful video games about Luigi and Mario's wacky adventures. For a start, the story is set in a gritty city that was inspired by "Blade Runner," as opposed to the bright wonderland that is the Mushroom Kingdoom.

Fortunately, Hollywood has a habit of returning to popular IPs, and "Super Mario Bros." is no different. Animation studio Illumination Entertainment is currently hard at work on a CG "Super Mario Bros." flick that will hopefully be more in line with the video game franchise. That said, fans who are eagerly awaiting Mario and Luigi's next on-screen adventure will have to be patient.

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the upcoming "Super Mario Bros." movie. Featuring an all-star cast that includes Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, and Seth Rogen (per IMDb), the film is loaded with comedic talent whose personalities should complement the characters they're playing. Sadly, it's going to be a while until fans can hear them in action.

In a statement released via Nintendo of America's official Twitter account, Shigeru Miyamoto — who created the "Super Mario Bros." video games and is serving as a producer on the upcoming movie — revealed that the film has been delayed until next year. "This is Miyamoto. After consulting with Chris-san, my partner at Illumination on the Super Mario Bros. film, we decided to move the global release to Spring 2023–April 28 in Japan and April 7 in North America. My deepest apologies but I promise it will be well worth the wait," he wrote.

The video game creator didn't reveal any specific reasons for the delay. However, considering that little information is known about the project as of this writing, we can only assume that it's still a work in progress.