‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ trailer reveals Yoshi, Birdo, and a bunch of deep-cut Nintendo chaos

Nintendo surprised fans this weekend with an unexpected Nintendo Direct — and a brand-new trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie that wastes no time unleashing familiar faces, deep-cut characters, and some truly bonkers imagery.

Hosted by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, the presentation opens with an extended look at Mario and Luigi tearing across the desert on motorbikes, a sequence teased in the film’s previous trailer. The brothers soon arrive at a location instantly recognizable to Super Mario Odyssey players: the inverted pyramid in the Sand Kingdom. You can watch the trailer above.

Tasked with unblocking a rogue Warp Pipe, Mario and Luigi power up with Fire Flowers and descend into the darkness. As Mario’s iconic underground theme plays, the brothers reach the jammed pipe — which turns out to be hiding a major reveal: Yoshi. And yes, he talks.

Rather than the intimidating enemy they were bracing for, Yoshi initially appears frightened by Mario and Luigi. Later shots make it clear that the diminutive dinosaur quickly becomes part of the crew — and today’s trailer gives fans their first taste of how Yoshi will sound, complete with mumbled dialogue and his signature habit of calling out his own name.

Yoshi’s arrival won’t come as a shock to anyone who stuck around for the post-credits scene of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which ended with a green Yoshi egg beginning to crack open. Still, hearing the character speak — even just a little — feels like a big moment.

From there, the trailer launches into a rapid-fire montage of action. Mario and Peach are shown infiltrating a lava-filled environment that looks ripped straight out of a Bowser’s Castle level. In another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, a Toad is swallowed by an enormous Cheep Cheep — only to be rescued by Luigi sporting the classic Frog Suit Power-Up.

Another quick montage introduces Birdo, who is seen angrily firing eggs at Peach. The princess blocks the attack with her parasol, and for a split second, eagle-eyed fans can spot Mouser — a true deep cut from Super Mario Bros. 2 and one of that game’s rodent bosses.

The pairing isn’t accidental. Birdo and Mouser both debuted in Super Mario Bros. 2, which was set in the dream world of Subcon. The sequence raises an intriguing question: Is Peach tackling her own side quest early in the movie while Mario and Luigi explore the Sand Kingdom?

The trailer also offers a first look at Lakitu on the big screen, hurling projectiles at Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi from above.

Things get even stranger in the closing moments. Yoshi is shown clutching a weapon resembling the SNES Super Scope, while Toad holds Baby Luigi and Baby Mario. The group appears to be squaring off against a T-Rex that looks lifted straight from Super Mario Odyssey. Context? Still unclear — but vibes? Immaculate.

According to IGN, the Nintendo Direct wrapped with a brief retrospective on Yoshi’s long history across Nintendo games, followed by a check-in with Illumination boss Chris Meledandri. Meledandri confirmed that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has officially completed animation and is now in post-production.

As work continues on sound and music, themes from the Super Mario Galaxy games are being re-recorded for the film’s soundtrack using a 70-piece orchestra.

Notably, Nintendo declined to reveal who is voicing Yoshi — or announce any new additions to the cast. Rosalina and Bowser Jr. were also absent from this trailer, despite being highlighted in November’s dedicated Nintendo Direct, which confirmed that Rosalina would be voiced by Marvel star Brie Larson and Bowser Jr. by Benny Safdie.

Both Safdie and Larson join the returning cast from the first film: Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek.

Previously, Nintendo teased that the sequel would include characters that “are really deep cuts”, fueling fan speculation that the film’s story could finally address a long-running theory about Peach and Rosalina’s shared origins.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is now set to hit theaters on April 1 — two days earlier than originally announced — aligning its release with international markets.