We just got our second taste of The Super Mario Bros. Movie yesterday, and the film is shaping up to be an even wilder ride than we originally thought.
Where the first trailer didn’t reveal much more than Bowser’s gravitas and Mario being uncharacteristically out of his depth, the second was all too happy to show off the expanse of the Mario universe, with cheeky references to Mario Kart and the first onscreen appearance of Seth Rogen‘s Donkey Kong.
But it was Anya Taylor-Joy‘s Princess Peach that had an uncontested claim to the trailer’s MVP; not only is the princess’ animation and voice work the stuff of perfection, but she looks to be deviating from her video game role of damsel-in-distress, instead taking up arms as a capable leader and hero of the Mushroom Kingdom in her own right. For all we know, it’s Peach that will end up being Bowser’s greatest threat.
There’s one aspect of Peach’s screentime that have some fans dunking their heads into vats of serotonin, though, proving once and for all that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has forever altered the expectations we have when it comes to movies.
Indeed, during the trailer, Peach mentions to Mario that “there’s a huge universe out there with a lot of galaxies. They’re all counting on us,” in reference to their upcoming war against Bowser. Some fans have taken this to mean that Princess Rosalina, a cosmic princess and guardian who first appeared in 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy and who has been a mainstay in the franchise ever since, just might be showing up during the events of the film.
It would be nothing short of a delightful cameo, and Twitter is doing everything it can to believe that Peach’s throwaway line is actually foreshadowing one of Nintendo’s most beloved royals.
However likely it is that Rosalina could be involved, it certainly wouldn’t be out of place; with a Donkey Kong spinoff reportedly in development by Illumination, we could be heading towards a Mario cinematic universe. Rosalina, given the important role she tends to play in the games, would be the perfect character to set up not only another film, but a wider multi-stranded narrative.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie will release to theaters on April 7.