Super Mario Galaxy Movie Is Nintendo’s Iron Man 2 (And That’s Not A Good Thing)

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie expands the world of Nintendo on the big screen with its adventure across different planets. As Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad try to stop Bowser Jr. and rescue Princess Rosalina, they meet both allies and enemies from Nintendo’s history. While it’s a delightful experience for dedicated fans, the movie follows a somewhat predictable formula.

Nintendo seems to be making the same mistake Marvel Studios did at the beginning of its movie universe, and that’s concerning. It looks like they’re repeating past errors.

Super Mario Galaxy Movie Takes the Iron Man 2 Approach

When Iron Man 2 came out in 2010, many fans found it a bit underwhelming. The first Iron Man movie was a focused story about Tony Stark’s journey to becoming a hero. Iron Man 2, however, arrived at a time when Marvel Studios was quickly expanding its cinematic universe. They were already planning solo movies for Thor and Captain America, all leading up to the big Avengers team-up. This put a lot of pressure on Iron Man 2 – it had to continue Tony Stark’s story and develop his character, and set up future movies with characters like Nick Fury, Black Widow, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. Avengers Initiative. The result was a film that felt crowded and struggled to balance everything. Iron Man 2 was the first time fans began to worry that building a shared universe might come at the cost of delivering satisfying individual movies.

After seeing the Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo fans are starting to feel the same concerns as those who worried about other cinematic universes. The new film prioritizes a series of vibrant, game-inspired set pieces over a strong, connected story and character development, which were present in the first movie. The returning characters don’t experience meaningful growth, and the film lacks a central theme. Instead, it relies on cameos and Easter eggs hinting at a larger shared universe—some fans are already calling it the “Smash Bros. Universe.”

Build The Smash Bros. Universe The Right Way

The Super Smash Bros. series is a huge success for Nintendo, bringing together characters from many different Nintendo games, as well as some from other companies like Capcom’s Street Fighter. The first game included iconic characters like Mario, Peach, Donkey Kong, and Link and Zelda from The Legend of Zelda – many of whom are now appearing in Nintendo movies, including a new Zelda film. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie added Fox McCloud, the star of Star Fox (voiced by Glenn Powell), to the mix. However, Fox feels out of place in the film; since he’s never been part of the Mario games, his inclusion seems designed to broaden the universe beyond the established Mario storyline.

Marvel Studios has often fallen into the trap of prioritizing flashy crossovers and cameos over the quality of individual films – a pattern that’s been especially noticeable since Avengers: Endgame. This approach has damaged the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s reputation and made people question the idea of interconnected movie franchises. So, it’s surprising to see Nintendo potentially repeat this mistake. After unexpectedly achieving massive success with The Super Mario Bros. Movie – a film that worked well on its own – it seems odd that they’d quickly move away from focusing on standalone stories. This shift understandably makes fans skeptical about Nintendo’s plans for future films, particularly if promised projects like an animated Star Fox movie, hinted at in connection with a potential Super Mario Galaxy film, never materialize.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is now playing in theaters.

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2026-04-03 17:11