Since the Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel was announced alongside its release date, things have been quiet from Universal Pictures—until now, as the title’s sequel may have been accidentally leaked.
In a press release published on the NBCUniversal website, it appears that too much information was shared about the company’s upcoming film lineup. NBCUniversal revealed several key movie, television and streaming releases for the next two years, and one title on the list stood out from the rest.
The NBCUniversal press release detailing the company’s upcoming content slate stated: “An exciting range of films from Universal Pictures, Focus Features, DreamWorks Animation and Illumination were presented, including M3GAN 2.0, Nobody 2, The Bad Guys 2, How to Train Your Dragon, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, The Black Phone 2, HIM, The Phoenician Scheme, Super Mario World, Shrek and Minions.” Shortly after it was posted, the lineup was significantly altered. The title of the Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel—Super Mario World—has since been removed from the press release.
Given the events in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where the Mushroom Kingdom is saved, it’s possible Illumination and company saw an opportunity to bring the brothers beyond their home world to showcase Super Mario World on the big screen.
The 1990 SNES title took the Mario Bros. out of the Mushroom Kingdom and brought them to Dinosaur Land, the home of Yoshi—who didn’t appear in the first movie—and many other recognizable characters from the Mario world. The game was also included as a pack-in title with the SNES at launch, meaning every console came with a copy of Super Mario World. The importance of the title to the Super Mario Bros. franchise can’t be understated, so the accidental name slip in the press release could be legitimate.
NBCUniversal, Illumination and Nintendo have yet to comment on the apparent leak. The Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel is scheduled to land in theatres in the U.S. on April 3 and in Japan on April 24, with a global release date still to be announced. Fans should take the news with a grain of salt, however, until an official statement is made.
