'Super Mario Bros. Movie' Releasing Earlier Than Expected

The Super Mario Bros. Movie must have hit a power mushroom on the track because it is speeding up its release schedule. On Tuesday, Universal announced that the movie will premiere two days earlier than expected on Wednesday, April 6 rather than Friday, April 7. The international release dates have changed as well, and for a movie based on a Japanese intellectual property, that could cause some confusion.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie will premiere on April 5 in over 60 markets, according to a report by Variety, including the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Australia and China. Throughout much of Asia, the release date comes later, and in Japan the movie won't be out until April 28. This may cause some confusion among fans, but at least those in the U.S. won't be tempted to seek out bootlegs or pirated copies.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie was first announced in September of 2021 and the idea was met with some mockery on social media, but it seems like fans have come around on it in recent weeks. The movie was written by Matthew Fogel and directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. Its A-list voice cast has been the source of most of its criticism – especially Chris Pratt playing the titular plumber Mario.

Other stars include Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Sebastian Maniscalco as Foreman Spike, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek and Charlies Martinet in an undisclosed role. Fans have scrutinized every syllable of these voices in the trailers we've seen so far, and many still think that Pratt's Italian accent leaves something to be desired. Still, there are plenty of things in the teasers to be excited about.

So far, the storyline of the Mario movie is more or less a mystery. The trailers show the characters visiting familiar settings from the game franchises and jumping across platforms that look like they could have been pulled right out of the games themselves. There is also a scene where many of them drive go-karts on a rainbow road that definitely nod towards the beloved racing spinoff game.

With just over a month until the release date, it's likely that Universal, Illumination and Nintendo are keeping the story details secret until the last possible second. Fans will be able to see it for themselves when The Super Mario Bros. Movie premieres on Wednesday, April 5 in theaters.