The Super Mario Bros. Movie Already Set Up The Franchise’s Best Peach Spinoff

Summary

• Peach’s mysterious backstory in
  The Super Mario Bros. Movie
  sets up a great spinoff story for the beloved character.
• The film wisely keeps Peach’s origins a secret, setting the stage for a unique narrative in future sequels and spinoffs.
• Anya Taylor-Joy’s Peach is a compelling, dynamic version of the character that flips the script on the traditional damsel in distress trope.

The first film based on a video game to draw over $1 billion, The Super Mario Bros. Movie fell just behind Barbie in terms of box office success, becoming 2023’s second-highest-grossing film. With numbers like that, a Super Mario Bros. cinematic universe based on the beloved Nintendo property seems to be on the horizon. While the film focused on its titular sibling duo, Illumination’s Super Mario Bros. Movie boasts other compelling characters too. However, it’s Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) who stands out the most, eclipsing even Mario (Chris Pratt) with her brick-busting, Koopa-hopping skills.

At a key character-driven moment, The Super Mario Bros. Movie makes a point of teasing Peach’s mysterious background. Although the Mushroom Kingdom’s beloved princess doesn’t dwell too much on her origins, it’s clear that there’s a lot to explore. In the Super Mario Bros. cinematic universe canon, Mario and Luigi (Charlie Day) are Brooklyn-based plumbers who end up being accidentally transported into the world of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Peach is the only other human they encounter. Needless to say, The Super Mario Bros. Movie set the stage for a Princess Peach spinoff rather perfectly.

Peach’s Mysterious Backstory In The Super Mario Bros. Movie Sets Up Her Own Spinoff

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Was Wise To Keep Peach’s Origins A Secret

If anything, the teams at Nintendo and Illumination were wise to keep Peach’s Super Mario Bros. Movie origins a secret. Instead of laying out her backstory in flashback form, the movie teases a completely original story behind Peach’s arrival in the Mushroom Kingdom. While some long-time Nintendo fans chafed at the movie’s changes to the source material, there’s no denying that the distinct narrative and canon of The Super Mario Bros. Movie leaves plenty of doors — or green pipes — open for future sequels and spinoffs. With Mario’s origin story settled, it’s Peach’s turn to take the spotlight.

…it seems only fitting that Mario’s journey would push Peach to learn more about her own pre-Mushroom Kingdom past.

In the film, Mario shares that he accidentally landed in the Mushroom Kingdom after entering a strange green pipe. Beyond thrilled to meet another human, Princess Peach shares her story: She also arrived via Warp Tube, though she was an infant when it happened. Peach doesn’t reveal any additional details, and, given her then-age, it’s possible she doesn’t remember much else. However, given the events of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it seems only fitting that Mario’s journey would push Peach to learn more about her own pre-Mushroom Kingdom past.

Exploring Princess Peach’s Origins Would Make Her An Even Better Character

Anya Taylor-Joy’s Peach Is Already A More Interesting Version Of Her Video Game Counterpart

One of the best parts of The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the way it flips the video game series’ script. Instead of painting Princess Peach as a one-dimensional damsel in distress, it’s Peach who teaches Mario the ins-and-outs of wielding Fire Flower powers, dodging Piranha Plants, and smashing brick blocks. With impressive martial arts, parkour, and motorbike-riding skills, Peach is the more experienced Mushroom Kingdom hero. That said, Peach’s origin story can add even more depth to an already-compelling character, and seems like the franchise’s next logical narrative step.

…[a spinoff can answer] why Peach is the de facto leader of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Although Peach has been the ruler (or, at the very least, figurehead) of the Mushroom Kingdom and its Toad people — a species of peaceful mushroom-like denizens — it’s clear that she herself isn’t a mushroom person. The Super Mario Bros. Movie sets the stage for providing some long-awaited answers as to why Peach is the de facto leader of the Mushroom Kingdom. Although the film confirms that Peach came to the Mushroom Kingdom from another world, fan theories have been swirling about whether that world is the same as Mario and Luigi’s home.

How A Super Mario Bros. Movie Spinoff Could Pull From The Games For This Backstory

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto Wants Peach To Evolve From Her Damsel-In-Distress Origins

Previously, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto voiced his interest in developing Princess Peach’s role and deepening her character. While Nintendo has retained Peach’s more traditional role in most of its video game outings, Miyamoto used The Super Mario Bros. Movie as a means of creating a more empowered, dynamic version of Peach (via Variety). In the game manual of the first-ever Super Mario Bros. video game, it’s said that Princess Peach is the daughter of King Toadstool. Since Nintendo doesn’t seem particularly vocal about the relationship, The Super Mario Bros. Movie franchise can invent an original backstory for Peach.