MOVIE NEWS – The Super Mario Galaxy Movie arrives in theaters this spring, bringing back the heroes from the previous installment for brand-new adventures set in space and across multiple planets.

But alongside Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, Browser and the rest, one important character will not be appearing – even though in the previous film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, he added a great deal to the overall experience. The missing character is Donkey Kong, voiced in the original version by Seth Rogen, and in Hungarian by Ádám Gacsai. The giant gorilla didn’t just boost the comedy and adventure elements, he also helped Mario’s character development, making his absence in the new production feel doubly noticeable.

There are reasons for it, in fact two of them. For one, the large ape would admittedly look rather odd in outer space, which is why he isn’t featured in the game that serves as the basis for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. That alone wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, since the filmmakers freely borrow motifs from other entries in the game series when they fit the concept – but they may have also felt Donkey Kong truly belongs in the Jungle Kingdom and shouldn’t be pulled away from the vines and jungle setting.

An even stronger reason is that a Donkey Kong spin-off is likely already in the works – one that will give the beloved hero his own standalone film, and potentially an entire franchise based on the video game series. In that sense, it would be a mistake to “dilute” him within the Mario universe when an entirely new business line can be built around him, much like the Minions were expanded into a spin-off branch of the Despicable Me franchise.

(The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – Hungarian theatrical release: April 2, 2026.)

Source: UIP Dunafilm