The Super Mario Bros. Movie is confirmed to be getting a sequel in 2026, but one key important character, Donkey Kong, is missing from the official cast announcement. The first Super Mario Bros. movie was a smash hit at the box office, earning $1.36 billion worldwide to become the highest-grossing video game adaptation. Aside from breaking several box office records, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was also well-received by fans and critics, leading to the news of a sequel being greenlit.
One of the strong aspects of the first Super Mario Bros. movie is its incredible cast, headlined by Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, and Anya Taylor-Joy. The entire ensemble is expected to return in the already-announced sequel, but an essential character from the first movie has been left out.
During the recent Nintendo Direct in September 2025, Nintendo announced that the sequel to the Super Mario Bros. Movie is officially titled The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. The title is based on the names of two Super Mario Galaxy games from the Wii Nintendo console.
As part of the announcement, several original cast members are confirmed to return, namely Chris Pratt (Mario), Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), Charlie Day (Luigi), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), Jack Black (Bowser), and Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek).
However, Seth Rogen's Donkey Kong is notably missing from the official announcement. The character played a crucial role in The Super Mario Bros. Movie after serving as a friendly rival to Mario before helping him and the other protagonists take down Bowser in the climactic battle.
While Donkey Kong is not part of the confirmed cast (yet), I think I know why the pivotal character is left out of the announcement, and it may have something to do with his rumored spin-off movie.
In July 2025, IGN reported that Nintendo filed a copyright notice for an unannounced Donkey Kong movie in collaboration with Universal Pictures. The filing mentioned, "Untitled Donkey Kong Project; Motion picture," and listed Nintendo Studios LLC as the copyright holder, alongside Universal Pictures.
This filing could indicate plans for a Donkey Kong movie that could be announced sooner rather than later, but the announcement could be delayed so as not to take away the spotlight from The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
Aside from the sequel being greenlit, this development makes sense after the first movie's success. Legendary video game creator Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed in April 2023 that more Nintendo movies are on their way, and Super Mario Galaxy and Donkey Kong could usher in more projects along the way.
Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is confirmed to premiere in U.S. theaters on April 3, 2026.
Will Donkey Kong Still Appear in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie?
It's quite odd that Donkey Kong is not part of the main cast of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, considering he had an important role in the first movie. Still, there may be an in-universe reason why Donkey Kong is not part of the group that ends up going to space in the sequel.
There is a good chance that Donkey Kong might still appear in the early moments of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, where Mario could recruit him as part of their unnamed intergalactic mission. Donkey Kong could deny his invitation, and this could instantly set up his lone adventure in the spin-off movie.
Another way to explain Donkey Kong's absence in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the possibility of the spin-off being set at the same time as the highly anticipated sequel. This could easily be mentioned or shown through a post-credits scene in Super Mario Galaxy.
A Donkey Kong spin-off could expand Seth Rogen's character in many ways, such as exploring Kong County and introducing another important character like Rosaline (who played a prominent role in the previously launched Donkey Kong Bonanza video game for the Nintendo Switch 2).
