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The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s ending, explained

Alex Welch
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Warning: this article contains major spoilers for The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).

At the end of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Mario (Chris Pratt) accidentally brings Bowser (Jack Black) and all of his minions to Earth. Desperate to save Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and the Mushroom Kingdom from one of Bowser’s powerful Bonzai Bill bombs, Mario redirects the missile into one of the magical green pipes that connect all of the film’s universes together. Mario doesn’t realize that, in doing so, he momentarily destroys the barriers between worlds.

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What happens in the last act of The Super Mario Bros. Movie?

The final act of The Super Mario Bros. Movie takes place in the same Brooklyn neighborhood where Luigi (Charlie Day) and Mario’s family live. Determined to put Bowser’s quest to forcibly marry Peach and conquer the multiverse to an end, Mario faces off against Bowser on the streets of his own home. Unfortunately, even with the help of some of his new friends — namely, Peach, Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), and Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) — Mario can’t quite get the edge on Bowser.

Bowser's kingdom floats near Peach's castle in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Universal Pictures

That all changes, though, once Luigi and Mario team up. After the former saves his brother from Bowser’s deadly fire breath, Luigi and Mario finally fulfill the promise of The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s title by absorbing the power of Bowser’s coveted Super Star together. Imbued with the star’s power of invulnerability and super strength, Luigi and Mario handily defeat Bowser in hand-to-hand combat. In the wake of his defeat, Peach forces Bowser to consume a blue mushroom, which shrinks him down to miniature size and renders him incapable of causing harm to his enemies.

Following their victory over Bowser, Mario and Luigi permanently relocate to the Mushroom Kingdom. The final scene of The Super Mario Bros. Movie follows the duo as they make their way — plumbing toolkit in hand — through the streets and pipes of Princess Peach’s adoptive home.

What is The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s ending?

During the film’s end credits, viewers are then treated to two additional scenes. The first catches back up with Jack Black’s still-miniaturized Bowser as he sings yet another power ballad about his overwhelming love for Anya Taylor-Joy’s Peach. The second, meanwhile, takes moviegoers back to New York City’s underground tunnel system just in time to see a green and white spotted dinosaur egg from the Mushroom Kingdom begin to hatch.

As longtime Super Mario Bros. fans will immediately know, the latter scene signals the future introduction of Yoshi, one of Nintendo’s most beloved and well-known characters. A member of a dinosaur-like race, Yoshi is one of Mario’s most recognizable video game sidekicks and his occasional steed. The film’s post-credits scene isn’t the only time that The Super Mario Bros. Movie foreshadows Yoshi’s future introduction, either. Earlier in the film, Mario and Peach briefly walk past several other Yoshi-like dinosaurs as they make their way through the mushroom forests of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Mario and Peach walk through a mushroom field in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Universal Pictures

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a fun but flawed film that manages to honor its characters without also taking them too seriously. The film’s two end credits scenes reflect that duality, while its initial ending sets the stage for a potential Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel to spend even more time in the Mushroom Kingdom and the other fantastic realms that are connected to it. Of course, whether or not said sequel gets made remains to be seen.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now playing in theaters.

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Alex Welch
Alex Welch
Writer
Alex Welch is a TV and movies writer based out of Los Angeles. In addition to Digital Trends, his work has been published by…
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