Writing a GOOD Super Mario Movie Sequel

Please note: This isn’t me trying to predict how The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will play out, but what I think are the ingredients needed for the film to have a semi-decent screenplay. This is purely for fun.

Let’s get this out of the way: I will be seeing the Super Mario Galaxy Movie. I’ve already bought my ticket, which went on sale almost a month before the movie is set to release. For Super Mario, consider me a Super Fan.

Here is also an unavoidable truth: no matter how good it is, the movie will have too many characters.

From the trailer alone, the movie already feels pretty stuffed. Aside from Mario, Luigi, Toad, Princess Peach, and Bowser from the first film, the sequel is introducing Yoshi from Super Mario World, Bowser Jr. from Super Mario Sunshine, Princess Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxy, various locales and characters (i.e. the little skull dudes from Tostarena/the Sand Kingdom) from Super Mario Odyssey, AND the final trailer introduced King Wart, Mouser, Birdo, and the Ninji from Super Mario Bros. 2 (aka Doki Doki Panic, if ya nasty).

And I STILL think there are more characters to come, as we’ll see in my version of the Super Mario Galaxy plot. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a two-second cameo of Donkey Kong, among other characters from the first film.

Anyway, here is how I think the movie SHOULD play out to be a salvageable sequel. This was written with the aid of the Save the Cat! Beat sheet, popularized by the late-great writer of Blank Check, Blake Snyder:

A GOOD SUPER MARIO BROS. GALAXY MOVIE (as broken down in Save the Cat! Beats):

Beat 1: Opening Image

(First impressions of the movie, to be mirrored at the very end of the film)

Mario and Luigi are heroes and lauded for their efforts from the first movie. They are praised by Mayor Pauline (and it is heavily implied that Brooklyn is the Metro Kingdom in this universe).

Beat 2: Theme Stated

(What’s the movie about? Animated films are usually good at blatantly spelling it out)

Mario and Luigi are brothers. Bowser has his son Bowser Jr., and Yoshi becomes an adopted third member of the plumber duo. Therefore, I think the thematic premise of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will be about family.

I think we’ll get into a lore dive which subverts the canon of the Mario game franchise by revealing Rosalina to be Peach’s long-lost sister. This was considered in an earlier version of the Super Mario Galaxy game, but eventually scrapped. Unless Word of God (i.e. Shigeru Miyamoto) draws a hard line on this, I think it’s almost a guarantee the movie will take this direction and give Peach a sister, reinforcing the family theme.

Beat 3: Set-Up

(The make-or-break section of the film where things that need “fixing” in the plot are revealed and later “solved”)

Spike (the bully from the first movie) becomes jealous of Mario and Luigi’s fame and is obsessed with taking them down. One day, Spike follows them down the secret pipe in the sewers to the Mushroom Kingdom, but similar to Luigi from the first movie, he winds up in a different world: the Dream kingdom Subcon. There, he uncovers King Wart, who offers to help Spike in exchange for enlisting him into his dream army to kidnap Princess Rosalina. As a result, Spike is split into two beings: Wario and Waluigi.

(Yeah, my big swing for the fences was that the sequel to the first movie would include antagonists Wario and Waluigi, though I admit that’s looking less and less likely considering the stacked nature of the movie cast list. Still! I’m not writing my predictions for the sequel, I am merely writing what I think would constitute a good sequel, and I still think the addition of Wario and Waluigi via Spike would make a fun, creative plot turn. It also gives Sebastian Maniscalco a reason to come back).

Beat 4: Catalyst

(The “bad news” that eventually leads the hero to happiness)

Wario and Waluigi return to Brooklyn and impersonate the Mario Bros, instantly sullying their name. When Mario and Luigi return to Brooklyn, they are labeled as no-good bums and are cast out of the city by an angry mob.

Beat 5: Debate

(“Should I stay or should I go?” or “I mustache you a question…”)

Mario and Luigi second-guess themselves after being run out of Brooklyn, but eventually decide to stay in the Mushroom Kingdom, at least until the bad press blows over. In the meantime, they continue their plumbing service in neighbouring Kingdoms, and during one job, unclog a pipe in the Sand Kingdom (Tostarina) to discover Yoshi. Mario and Luigi take to Yoshi instantly, but Toad distrusts him.

Beat 6: Break into Two

(“Something’s got to give” or Crossing the First Threshold within the Hero’s Journey)

There is a meteor shower over the Mushroom Kingdom, which includes Princess Rosalina’s ship passing through. Unbeknownst to the heroes, Wart is pursuing Rosalina because he wants an all-powerful being, one infused with the energy of the Power Star. (I think Brie Larson is inspired casting in that Rosalina is likely the Nintendo version of Captain Marvel: a woman who, through amazing circumstance, was imbued with a phenomenal cosmic power).

Beat 7: B Story

(“Break up with your A Plot, I’m bored” or “And now for something completely different…”)

Peach sees the meteor shower and realizes they are all micro-worlds and takes it upon herself to explore with the help of Toad (who is sick of playing second fiddle to Yoshi). Meanwhile, Wart visits Bowser in a dream and grants his wish for family, creating a child version of himself in the form of Bowser Jr. to break him out of the Mushroom Kingdom.

(Based on the final trailer, I’m concerned that Wart will only be a minor obstacle/inconvenience in the grand story, but it was my hope that Wart would be the true antagonist and Bowser would become a reluctant ally).

Beat 8: Fun and Games

(All the cool stuff you saw in the trailers, or “the promise of the premise”)

Princess Peach travels from kingdom to kingdom, exploring levels just like in the video game, providing the audience with some obligatory fan service and justifying the cost of an IMAX ticket with stunning animation and colourful visuals. She is eventually apprehended by Wart and his goons.

Beat 9: Midpoint

(“What goes up must come down”, or vice versa)

Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi meet Rosalina, who offers them assistance to travel across the galaxy to save Peach and take down Wart.

Beat 10: Bad Guys Close In

(The “Bobby runs away” scene)

Something I learned from Michael Jamin’s screenwriting course, the “Bobby runs away” beat refers to a moment that occurs before Act 3 where a character flees from a dire situation in a dramatic fashion (a la Bobby Hill saying “I hate you, dad!” to Hank Hill before running out of a room). The closest example I could think of was the episode of King of the Hill where Peggy Hill finally realizes her gargantuan feet were being used to make foot fetish videos on the Internet, and she runs away out of shame. Basically, feels bad man, vibes abound.

For The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the Bad Guys Close In moment would likely be Rosalina getting captured by Bowser and both he and Wart making a trade for each other’s princess.

Then perhaps Wario and Waluigi do or say something to make Mario and Luigi reckon with their family dynamic and the two brothers are at odds with one another, with Luigi tired of living in Mario’s shadow.

Beat 11: All is Lost

(A literal or symbolic death)

It’s when Nicodemus dies in The Secret of NIMH (literal death). It’s when Catherine O’Hara’s character injures her knee just before the final round of the competition in Best in Show (symbolic, the death of a dream). Basically, the sh*t has hit the fan and things look pretty hopeless.

For the Mario Galaxy film, I anticipate the “death” of the team, aka the merry band breaks up. Yoshi probably gets yelled at out of anger and temporarily hides, only to be taken by Wario and Waluigi.

Beat 12: Dark Night of the Soul

(A quiet, reflective moment to regroup)

Think the scene in Suicide Squad (2016) when Will Smith and Co. drown their sorrows at a bar after a crushing defeat.

It’s Bobby Hill giving a pep talk to his mother in the aforementioned episode of King of the Hill.

It’s this scene from The Day the Earth Blew Up:

Mario and Luigi reconcile, realizing they are stronger together than apart. Bowser Jr. reveals he is tired of trying to measure up to his father, and wishes to help Mario and Luigi.

Beat 13: Break Into Three

(Get ‘r Done!)

With the aid of a reformed Bowser Jr., Mario and Luigi retrieve Yoshi, and all travel back to the Mushroom Kingdom castle, where Peach is held captive by Bowser for a forced wedding.

Beat 14: Finale

The final set piece is Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi breaking up the wedding between Bowser and Peach. Bowser does a face turn with Bowser Jr. and aids in the release of Rosalina from Wart. Rosalina uses her powers to create a rift in time and space or a black hole and protects the heroes but at the expense of being separated from Peach again.

Beat 15: Final Image

(Mirror image of the opening)

Mario and Luigi’s status as heroes is restored; they gain an adopted brother in the form of Yoshi, who Toad eventually comes to accept as part of the team. Bowser loses Peach, but he gains a son. Peach loses Rosalina, but gains the knowledge that somewhere out there in the cosmos, she has family who cares for her.

BONUS: Possible Stingers

Spike remains a split entity as Wario and Waluigi, setting the stage for them to return in a sequel, or a brand-new character (Daisy, Koopalings) is introduced for Mario 3. After spotting Baby Mario in the trailer, there may also be a prequel film, focusing on Yoshi. Or perhaps we just get a Donkey Kong spinoff and they can retcon the awful casting of Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong.

Final Thoughts

I’m beyond excited to watch The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in April. No matter the outcome of the script, I hope the film succeeds and that it leads to many more Mario and Nintendo movies to come.

What are your thoughts? Do you like my version of the sequel? What is on your wishlist for the perfect Mario Movie? (And can Nintendo throw us a frickin’ bone and re-release Super Mario 35? That game was my JAM on the Switch, bring it back!!!)

I’d love to hear from you!