The Super Mario Bros. movie has long since targeted 2022. Nintendo then revealed during a September 2021 Direct that it was eyeing a December 21, 2022 premiere for North America. However, the company has officially delayed the film and given it a new North American release date: April 7, 2023.
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.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) April 26, 2022
RELATED: Chris Pratt Reflects on Voicing Mario: ‘Dreams Come True’
Nintendo designer, producer, and game director Shigeru Miyamoto gave a statement on Nintendo’s Twitter account. Miyamoto said that he consulted with “Chris-san,” who is likely Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri (who also joined Nintendo’s Board of Directors in 2021), and they decided to move the global release date to spring 2023: April 28, 2023 for Japan and, as previously stated, April 7, 2023 for North America. Miyamoto then apologized and said it would be “worth the wait,” somewhat calling back to one of his most famous quotes about delays being good for the product.
RELATED: Super Mario Bros. Producer Thinks Chris Pratt Will be ‘Phenomenal’ as Mario
Meledandri and Miyamoto met while making the Mario-themed theme park for Universal Studios. After finding out that they had similar creative processes, the two discussed making an animated Mario film, which they announced in 2018. The film made waves during its cast announcement in 2021, as it includes a number of high-profile stars like Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, and more.