Nintendo has not ruled out an appearance by Wario in the Super Mario Movie franchise — even though Mario’s creator Shigeru Miyamoto says he’s banned the films from featuring “dirty jokes.”
Wario is, of course, known for his unsavory habits. In Super Smash Bros., the character uses the power of his farts to launch attacks (via an ability named Wario Waft). In other games, he is frequently seen chain-chomping through garlic and picking his nose.
It’s hard to picture Wario amongst the other Super Mario Movie franchise cast — but Miyamoto has said there’s nothing to stop him appearing, including an apparent aversion to slightly ruder humor.
“I think of children as ‘adults, they just don’t have as much knowledge yet,'” Miyamoto said during an interview with Japanese website Crank In (via machine translation). “That’s why I don’t want to make them laugh with dirty jokes, and I’ve even given Chris [Meledandri, boss of animation studio Illumination] a ban on dirty jokes (laughs).
“Oh, that doesn’t mean Wario won’t be in it, though,” Miyamoto then added.
Wario is arguably now the most well-known Mario franchise character yet to make the leap to the big screen, following the addition of everyone from Rosalina to Birdo in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Exactly how Wario might appear, however, remains to be seen — and there have been no teases at all that his arrival is immiment.
Still, someone will have to be the antagonist of the third major Mario film, which Bowser actor Jack Black has suggested will arrive in 2029. There’s also a Mario spinoff movie with a 2028 release date, although that’s expected to center around Donkey Kong.
After a month in theaters, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has now made $898 million at the global box office — more than enough to ensure it gets a sequel, though a total that’s notably down on the $1.36 billion raked in by Nintendo’s first animated movie. Can the sequel still crack a billion? It’s not impossible, but looking less likely — something that may have been hindered by the film’s middling reviews, which even took Miyamoto by surprise.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
