The Super Mario Bros. Movie Should Have a Post-Credit Scene of The New Mario Game
The upcoming Mario movie, set to be released in the spring, will bring a new adventure and versions of Mario and his friends to the big screen while respecting the franchise. This film must be a hit, as it is evident that Nintendo and Illumination have big plans for the franchise. It is also crucial that this film is a hit since many gamers are still skeptical and concerned about what it could do and mean for the 37+ year franchise. The film will have many hopes and expectations, but if there is one thing I hope to see is a trailer for the upcoming Super Mario 3D adventure game.
The last Super Mario 3D adventure game we were given was Super Mario Odyssey five years ago, released in 2017. You could count Bowser’s Fury, which was part of the Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury enhanced port, as a new adventure; however, I do not because it was half of an adventure that was part of a game that was released back in 2013 being re-released for the Nintendo Switch in 2021 to celebrate Mario’s 35th birthday. While it was much fun and enjoyable and gave us an idea of the gameplay for future Mario games, it wasn’t a complete adventure that we could spend many hours on.
Of course, there have been other Mario games that have been released since. Paper Mario: The Origami King and the Mario + Rabbid series do not count because they are not part of the Super Mario 3D series. Yes, we got some sports games, such as Mario Golf: Super Rush and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, but they do not count. Super Mario 3D All-Stars does not count as well as consists of three past 3D Mario games bundled into one to celebrate Mario’s 35th birthday in 2020.
Since the film's announcement in 2018, perhaps Nintendo has focused on the Mario film rather than the next 3D Mario game in hopes of seeing where the film will take the company and series before working on the next game. Another factor about a possible delay in the next Mario game is that Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the series, has spent much time with the development of the film and Super Nintendo World theme parks. Though he has taken a step back from game development to work on these projects, he still has much influence throughout the game development process.
Regardless of the reason(s), enough time has passed since the release of the last game, and we are overdue for some news about the upcoming 3D Super Mario adventure game. This is why if there is a post-credit scene, it should give us some preview or announcement of the next game. This would be a perfect way to announce it to the audience. There is no doubt that there will be many gamers in the theaters to see the film, and what better way, after seeing a film that, hopefully, is a hit, to give them news of a new Mario game than with some preview? Therefore, any information during the post-credit scene would be greatly appreciated, whether it be a trailer with some gameplay footage or just Mr. Miyamoto on the screen announcing the upcoming game.
The best example of post-credit scenes to showcase future projects is with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). While Marvel is not responsible for creating post-credit scenes, they have popularized them. The MCU uses them to give the audience some hint about what is coming for the characters and movies. They have also started using them in their TV shows since, ultimately, these shows will be connecting in some way to the MCU. That’s why so many people will stay till the very end to get a glance at what’s to come for the MCU.
Because a lot is riding on the Mario movie being a success so Nintendo can move forward with their plans on their other properties, I doubt that if there were a post-credit scene, it would give us a glance at an upcoming movie for the franchise. Though there are rumors that there might be a standalone film for Donkey Kong, they are rumors, and nothing has been confirmed. Therefore, they will wait and see the movie’s outcome before announcing anything further.
It should be noted that when Nintendo releases information and gameplay about upcoming games, they usually host live presentations called Nintendo Direct. Some games, and in the case of the Mario movie, get dedicated Directs. Therefore, before the film is released, we could get information about the upcoming 3D Mario adventure game via Direct. As of now, there has yet to be any news as to when the next Direct is, so we will have to see. Even if a Direct did give us info about the next Mario game, the post-credit scene could still give us more information or gameplay about it.
If a preview of the next Mario game is not going to happen, I have another suggestion. They should consider providing us a post-credit scene of Mario (this time being voiced by Charles Martinet and not Chris Pratt) telling the crowd, “Thank you so much for watching my movie.” Typically at the end of the credits in Mario games, Mario will express his gratitude to the players by saying, “Thank you so much for playing my game!”. Wouldn’t it be cool if they brought this into the film(s), and it was the voice of Martinet who started it? Also, wouldn’t it be nice if Mario thanked you for coming out and supporting his movie? How many movies do you watch, and at the end of it, the characters thank you for your support?
This is all speculation and my hopes for the upcoming movie. Who knows if there will be a post-credit scene and, if there is one, what it will be about? The only way is to check out the film when it comes out. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is set to hit theaters on April 5th, 2023. Except for Super Mario 3D All-Stars, all previously mentioned games are available on the Switch.
Additional links for reading:
Super Mario Odyssey is Still the Platformer to Beat, 5 Years On
Super Mario Odyssey 2 Seems Likely, But It's Probably Far Away