Global audiences will soon have a fresh streaming home to enjoy one of the biggest box-office animated blockbusters of recent years. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which crossed the prestigious one billion-dollar milestone at the global box office in June, is officially scheduled to land on Netflix on November 30. Currently available on Peacock, the massive sci-fi comedy features a star-studded voice cast and expands heavily upon the universe established by Nintendo and Illumination.
Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic—the creative minds behind Teen Titans Go!—the film serves as a direct sequel to the 2023 original. The storyline follows heroes Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) enjoying their status as saviors of the Mushroom Kingdom following their victory over Bowser (Jack Black), who was shrunk down and placed in a cage. However, peace is short-lived when Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) is abducted by Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), who remains furious about his father's humbling defeat.
Unlike previous local rescues, Bowser Jr. transports Rosalina into a vast, nearly empty region of space. To navigate the cosmic journey, the Mario brothers enlist the help of a new ally, Yoshi, voiced by Donald Glover. Meanwhile, acclaimed actress Anya Taylor-Joy returns to her role as Princess Peach, adding to a vocal ensemble that blends familiar names with fresh additions.
While the movie proved to be a towering commercial success as the second-highest-grossing animated film of 2026, critical reception was notably mixed. Reviewers such as Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian and Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent offered harsh critiques regarding the sequel's depth and style. Conversely, outlets like Polygon praised the feature for experimenting with diverse animation aesthetics. Regardless of critical division, the massive financial return and deep catalog of Nintendo intellectual property strongly suggest that further expansions within the cinematic universe are practically guaranteed, especially given the tease included in the film's post-credit sequence.
