Full spoilers follow for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. You have been warned.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie has finally Goomba-stomped its way into theaters. And like any good Marvel and DCEU movie, one of our most highly anticipated new movies of the year comes equipped with a couple of post-credits scenes that tease the film series' future.
In our view, Nintendo, Universal Pictures, and Illumination's new big screen take on the Mario gaming franchise is a dazzling cinematic knock-out. You can read more on why we think it's so great in our spoiler-free review of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
But you're here because you want to know what the video game movie's mid- and post-credits scenes mean for future movies. Without further ado, then, here's the lowdown on The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s end credits stingers.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie mid-credits scene explained: Peaches, Peaches, Peaches
The movie's mid-credits scene doesn't have any bearing on potential sequels to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. In fact, it's an amusing rehash of a sequence seen earlier in the film.
This scene opens with Bowser sat at his piano once more, singing his ‘Peaches' song. You know, the one the ballad he sung earlier in hilarious fashion. Of course you do. You wouldn't forget such a timeless love song – especially one co-written and performed by the brilliant Jack Black.
Initially, this rendition of ‘Peaches' appears as if it'll be a longer version of the song Bowser belted out earlier on. After all, it's positioned as a music video-style rendition of the tune, which seems like it'll play alongside the rest of the credits.
Humorously, that's not the case. Bowser is stopped mid-flow by one of the Mushroom Kingdom's halberd-carrying Toad guards. The Toad in question tells Bowser to shut his mouth, at which point the camera pans back to reveal a tiny Bowser, sitting a a miniature piano, is locked in a birdcage.
Wait, why is Bowser so small? In the movie's climactic battle, Bowser is defeated by a Super Star-powered Mario and Luigi. After they put him in his place, Princess Peach feeds Bowser a blue, mini Mushroom, which shrinks Bowser down to a petite version of himself. Following his defeat, he's carted off to Peach's castle and locked away so he can't inflict further damage on the Mushroom Kingdom and its neighboring realms.
Unsurprisingly, the hot-headed Bowser isn't happy about being told to shut up by the guard. He angrily informs the guard he'll escape some day, but the guard ignores his lecture, instead closing the door behind him and switching the light off. Never mind, Bowser. We're sure someone will help you escape at some point…
The Super Mario Bros. Movie post-credits scene explained: Yoshi joins the battle
The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s post-credits scene has more far-reaching implications than the mid-credits stinger does.
Here, we return to the underground pipe system where Mario and Luigi were initially transported to the Mushroom Kingdom early. The passageway has seen better days, mind you – after all, with Mario leading the giant Bullet Bill into the warp pipe in the film's third act (thus saving the Mushroom Kingdom from being blown up by said Bullet Bill), the projectile exploded as it exited the warp pipe, destroying the surrounding network of pipes.
The resulting explosion did more than ruin Brooklyn's water pipe system, though. The detonation resulted in the now-overpowered warp pipe inadvertently transporting a bunch of the film's main cast – and some other objects, which we're getting to – to Brooklyn. That's why the film's final showdown between the Mario brothers and Bowser takes place in the New York borough.
Once Bowser is beaten, everyone heads back to the Mushroom Kingdom – expect for one thing: a Yoshi egg. As the camera slowly zooms in on the object, it starts to hatch. The screen cuts to black as the egg breaks apart, and all we hear is the green-colored dinosaur saying his own name. Cue audience smiles and gasps all around.
If you recall the lead-up to Bowser and Peach's wedding-that-didn't-happen, one of the guests placing a Yoshi egg on the wedding gift table. This is the same egg that was sucked into the warp pipe later on. There's nothing like a good bit of foreshadowing, eh?
Yoshi's arrival in the Mario Cinematic Universe – we can call it the MCU, right? – means Nintendo, Universal, and Illumination can source from a whole suite of Mario and Yoshi games in a future film. They could adapt parts of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Super Mario Galaxy 2, which see Mario riding Yoshi. The trio might take inspiration from 1997's Yoshi's Island, which was briefly glimpsed (in some guise, anyway) in a montage scene in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. If the next Mario movie is even more of an ensemble piece, why not utilize Yoshi's abilities in the same way as Mario does in Super Mario Sunshine or Paper Mario?
Of course, a sequel to this film could deliver something wholly original. Yoshi has hatched in an underground part of Brooklyn, so he'll likely spook the city's population when he makes his way above ground. An early part of any Super Mario Bros. Movie follow-up could see Mario and Luigi trying to catch Yoshi and bring him back to the Mushroom Kingdom. We think another side-scrolling section would work very well for such a chase sequence. Make it so, Nintendo, Universal, and Illumination.
A joint Mario-Yoshi project doesn't need to be the next one that these three studios tackle, though. Seth Rogen, Charlie Day, and Keegan-Michael Key, who voice Donkey Kong, Luigi, and Toad respectively, have all expressed interest in playing their characters again in spin-off movies. If one or more of these are already in development, it could be a few years before we see Mario and Yoshi team up on the silver screen again (you know, after they did so in the terrible 1993 Super Mario Bros. live-action film).
Still, as long as The Super Mario Bros. Movie is successful, we'll be happy to wait for a sequel or two – no matter who's involved in them – if they end up being as good, if not better, than the legendary Italian plumber's latest cinematic adventure.
For more Super Mario Bros. Movie coverage, check out our exclusive chat with the movie's cast, which goes into detail about the latest Mario film aims to lay Nintendo's cinematic demons to rest.
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