After many years of waiting, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is set to hit theaters in April 2023. The film was developed by Illumination, the minds behind Despicable Me, and has already proven to be a faithful adaptation of its source material. Sneak peeks and trailers have shown audiences glimpses of characters like Luigi, Bowser, Toad, and Donkey Kong.
Hopefully, if the movie does well, it will result in a potential Nintendo Cinematic Universe, with plenty more opportunities to explore the on-screen Mushroom Kingdom. For now, fans will have to enjoy every easter egg that comes their way when the movie premieres. However, a cameo by any of these characters will surely prove Nintendo has more up its sleeve.
10 Wario & Waluigi
Of course, it would be hard to imagine any sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie where Wario and Waluigi aren't crashing the party. The two characters are staples of Mario's spin-off titles like Mario Kart and Mario Party. Their roles as the antithesis of Mario and Luigi also make them primed to be antagonists for a future film in the franchise.
The idea of having Wario and Waluigi in a future film, or perhaps a cameo in this one, is to fulfill fan castings of who could play them. Danny DeVito was favored to play Mario himself, but the Always Sunny cast member may be even better for Wario. As for Waluigi, it'd be nice to see an actor like Pedro Pascal flex his comedy muscles for the gangly sidekick.
9 Diddy Kong
Prior to the film's release, Nintendo already expressed interest in developing a Donkey Kong-centric film in the future. Seth Rogen is slated to play Mario's primate rival in the film, already stealing the show in some of the movie's most recent trailers. Fred Armisen is also set to appear in the film as Cranky Kong, but one significant monkey is missing from the cast list.
It would be quite a prelude to a potential Donkey Kong Country movie if Diddy Kong made a cameo appearance in this movie. Teaming Seth Rogen up with an actor like Jonah Hill or Kevin Hart to play the character would also get audiences excited to see the movie come to life. Although, the character may spell trouble for Mario and his friends with his rocket pack.
8 Princess Daisy
Princess Peach has already featured significantly in the trailers for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, with Anya Taylor-Joy proving to be a great choice to voice the character. However, there's no sign that Luigi's own love interest, Princess Daisy, will be appearing in the movie. This isn't a surprise, as Daisy's appearances in the franchise are usually in spin-off titles.
Additionally, having Princess Daisy show up could be a chance for Nintendo and Illumination to further explore the world outside the Mushroom Kingdom. Perhaps Daisy's home of Sarasaland is one of the kingdoms conquered by Bowser before he sets out for Peach's territory. A voice actress like Kristen Wiig would also pair well with Charlie Day as Luigi.
7 Professor E. Gadd
Of course, when it comes to Luigi, many Nintendo fans will be clamoring for a Luigi's Mansion movie after Charlie Day plays the character. Day has even expressed interest in a solo outing for Luigi, especially given that Luigi's Mansion is a beloved series with a built-in premise: Luigi getting invited to a strange mansion that turns out to be haunted by ghosts.
The best way to tease fans about a potential Luigi's Mansion movie would be to have Professor E. Gadd cameo in the film. Perhaps his role doesn't even have to be limited to a potential spin-off, and he simply serves as a resident inventor in the Mushroom Kingdom. Nevertheless, his appearance in the film would satisfy many ambitious fans.
6 Bowser Junior
The first trailers for The Super Mario Bros. Movie have given fans an idea of just how menacing Jack Black's iteration of Bowser will be. It'd be a shame if this movie was all fans get to see of the character, as his potential as an ongoing villain would be nothing short of iconic. However, perhaps the greatest tease would be to show some of Bowser's home life.
One of the film's potentially many cameos could be Bowser Jr, who first appeared in Super Mario Sunshine masquerading as Shadow Mario. The child of Bowser could make a similar appearance in this film or in future ones. It would even be an additional raising of stakes if Bowser Jr. appeared alongside all of Bowser's Koopaling children.
5 Petey Piranha
Another Super Mario Bros villain fans may want to see in the film is Petey Piranha, who also debuted in Super Mario Sunshine. It would be quite thrilling for fans to see Mario take down the mutated Piranha Plant in the movie. It would be even more exciting if Mario had to take the monster down by ground-pounding its stomach as he does in Super Mario Sunshine.
Petey Piranha has made plenty of appearances in other Mario games, most notably as a boss in Super Smash Bros Brawl (which was repurposed into a Final Smash for Piranha Plant in Ultimate). Odds are, fans won't know if Petey Piranha is included until the film comes out, but it would certainly make for a great, surprising sequence in the film.
4 Toadsworth
Obviously, it's no easy task for Illumination to turn a game franchise like Super Mario Bros into a compelling movie narrative. However, one character in the Mario franchise has made appearances exclusively for narrative purposes. That character is Toadsworth, Princess Peach's personal steward who also debuted in Super Mario Sunshine.
Since his debut, Toadsworth has made many appearances throughout the Mario series as a non-playable character (with some playable appearances in games like Mario Super Sluggers). It appears that in the film's trailers that Keegan-Michael Key's Toad character will be Peach's right-hand man, but perhaps Toadsworth could still make a brief cameo somehow.
3 Plessie
Out of all the newer characters to be introduced into the world of Super Mario Bros, few have captured fans' hearts as immediately as Plessie. The rideable dinosaur seems to be a cousin of the Yoshi species, which has been confirmed to appear in the film via one of its trailers. It's very possible that Plessie could make an appearance during an action sequence in the film.
Plessie first appeared in Super Mario 3D World, as Mario and his friends ride the giant dinosaur through several levels of the game. Even if it's a brief background appearance as part of the Mushroom Kingdom, Plessie's appearance would delight many fans. It would also be a great easter egg for fans of the series who are paying close attention.
2 Pauline
Pauline is an OG character in the Mario universe, first appearing as the damsel-in-distress in Mario's 1981 arcade debut, Donkey Kong. The character made limited appearances after Princess Peach came into the picture. That is, until the 2017 Nintendo Switch title Super Mario Odyssey was released, featuring Pauline as the mayor of New Donk City.
This role could inspire Pauline's appearance in The Super Mario Bros Movie. It's known that Mario and Luigi will be starting the film as plumbers working in Brooklyn, where Pauline could potentially be the mayor or simply a significant resident. Some fans even believe that Pauline can be seen in the background of a promo shot of Mario and Luigi in the movie.
1 Rosalina
In one of the trailers for The Super Mario Bros Movie, fans noticed Peach tell Mario about the galaxies that are out there. This got a lot of fans excited that the film would potentially tease a future film based on Super Mario Galaxy. A more on-the-nose teaser for this would be if Rosalina made a brief appearance in the film, potentially in a post-credits scene.
What would be especially poignant about a potential Rosalina cameo would be the possibility of seeing her backstory represented on screen. Revealed through storybook chapters in Super Mario Galaxy, Rosalina's story is a heartwarming and tragic tale about abandonment and found family. It would definitely tug at many Mario fans' heartstrings to see it promised.