New Mario movie trailer debuts Peach, Donkey Kong, and a gorgeous Rainbow Road

After a solid first showing for the long-awaited Super Mario Bros. Movie in October, Nintendo has returned with a second action-packed trailer, this time giving us a first proper look at Peach, Donkey Kong, and a delightful karting cameo for Rainbow Road.

In fact, it’s a bit of a treat for Mario fans all-round, casting its net wide to introduce a host of familiar faces, places, and power-ups. It’s the first time we get to hear Anya Taylor-Joy’s no-nonsense Princess Peach, for instance, as well as Charlie Day as Luigi, and a bit of a grunt from Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong.

Elsewhere, the trailer delivers a veritable breakneck tour of the movie’s beautifully reimagined Mushroom Kingdom, giving us a stroll across a bridge amid of flurry of Cheep Cheeps, a glimpse inside Peach’s castle, and, of course, the crowd-pleasing addition of karts hurtling across Rainbow Road.

There’s a classic Mario level hovering in the sky, a cameo from Tanooki Mario, a Fire Flower, a veritable cavalcade of Yoshi’s and what might well be the first time Mario has ever been seen doing some actual plumbing. Oh, and as widely speculated, it does indeed appear that Mario and Luigi have both somehow been hoovered out of the real world and into the Mushroom Kingdom.

About the only thing we didn’t get is a substantial blast of Chris Pratt in the lead role of Mario, with the trailer once again relegating his vocals to the odd Mario catchphrase here and there.

Of course, Pratt’s casting remains controversial. Following October’s Mario trailer debut, voice actor Tara Strong (Harley Quinn, Batgirl, and Fairly Odd Parents’ Timmy Turner) penned a series of tweets lamenting the decision to not cast Martinet in the film’s titular role.

“Voice actors – I’m gonna put my heart and soul in this for at least 20 years, help sell billions in merch, make the studios millions of dollars and make generations around the world happy. Hollywood – We don’t care,” she wrote.

Former Luigi actor John Leguizamo also chimed in, saying he considers Illumination’s decision not to cast an actor of colour in a lead role for the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie “backwards”.

Still, this latest look at The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a bit of a delight, with bags of references for long-term fans to revel in, a game cast, and a lost of Mario charm. We’ll know how it all comes together when it arrives in cinemas on 7th April next year.