Nintendo & Illumination's animated 'Super Mario Bros.' movie super-jumps to spring 2023

Nintendo fans will have to wait a big longer for Illumination's animated Super Mario Bros. film to emerge from the warp pipe. Posting on the Nintendo Twitter account, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto revealed the project has officially been pushed to spring 2023. Universal Pictures originally had the movie scheduled for a wide theatrical bow on Dec. 21, 2022.

"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," he wrote. "My deepest apologies but I promise it will be well worth the wait."

It's not the end of the world and the timing actually works out a little better as the U.S. version of Super Nintendo World is slated to open at Universal Studios Orlando next year as well.

Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy alum Chris Pratt will lend his voice to the iconic mustachioed plumber in the blue overalls. The supporting cast is just as impressive, with Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), Charlie Day (Luigi), Jack Black (Bowser), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), Fred Armisen (Cranky Kong), Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek), and Sebastian Maniscalco (Spike) tackling beloved characters from the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond.

Miyamoto is a producer on Super Mario Bros. alongside Illumination founder/CEO Chris Meledandri. Teen Titans Go! To the Movies vets Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic are co-directors, working off a screenplay from Matthew Fogel (Minions: The Rise of Gru). 

“Mario and Luigi are two of the most beloved heroes in all of popular culture, and we are honored to have the unique opportunity to work so closely with Shigeru Miyamoto and the widely imaginative team at Nintendo to bring these characters to life in an animated movie, unlike any film Illumination has made to date,” Meledandri, who also serves as an outside director of Nintendo, said last fall.

"We are collaborating with Chris and his experienced team to not just create a character licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros. to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy whether or not they know about the game," added Miyamoto, a Representative Director, Fellow of Nintendo. "The production so far is constructive and going very well, and both parties are learning a lot from each other. We humbly ask that fans wait just a little longer for the premiere, and we hope they look forward to seeing the unique characters from Super Mario Bros. on the big screen."

Mario & Co. haven't received the Hollywood treatment since the disastrous 1993 film adaptation starring Bob Hoskins as Mario, John Leguizamo as Luigi, and Dennis Hopper as King Koopa.