Jack Black Breaks Silence on The Super Mario Bros. Movie Sequel

The Excitement Builds

Jack Black is as excited as anyone for Illumination's highly-anticipated sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and he's now finally broken his silence on what's going on with it. He even has some ideas for other potential future sequels because, of course, he does.

Bowser playing the piano in The Super Mario Bros. Movie

The Super Mario Bros. Movie shocked audiences with its enjoyable adaptation of the beloved video game series. The film took some pretty big liberties, most notably changing Mario's origin story to where he's whisked away from the real world like an isekai anime series. But another significant change came from how Bowser was depicted. Portrayed by Black, the character remained the brutal, monstrous king he's always been. But the actor also added some fun new elements to the character, particularly a hilarious love song that may earn him and the film an Oscar nod along with what are sure to be plenty of other accolades.

The Sequel Update

So, with all this success, what's happening with the sequel? Well, in a recent interview with Variety, Black finally revealed what he knows. Unfortunately, it looks as though he's actually in the dark and hasn't been told anything just yet. This is pretty shocking, given the first movie's massive success. The last update it seems anyone got was The Super Mario Bros. Movie's Netflix release, which was December 3rd.

'It has been radio silence. The only chatter has been coming from me, and I don't even know if I'm allowed to chatter. I've been chomping at the bit to get back to business.'

What's Next for Bowser and Jack Black?

It's not all gloom, though. Black also discussed what went into creating Bowser's hilarious surprising hit power ballad 'Peaches,' which is probably the most on-brand thing the actor brought to the character. 'Peaches' was so popular that Black's Bowser song even got its music video. According to the actor, he only likes to introduce a musical element to a role if the studio is up-front about it from the beginning, as he takes his music work very seriously. This is evidenced by his involvement in the musical comedy duo Tenacious D alongside his long-time collaborator Kyle Glass.

'I don't like to mix my music and movies unless they told me at the beginning. I'm really protective of the Tenacious D side of my career. They sent me a 30-second nugget of an idea, and it was hilarious. So I fleshed it out, added some lyrics and melody, and they loved it. And by God, they put it in the film. I couldn't believe they did.'

So why does it seem like everything's at a standstill? Well, for one thing, the studio behind the film has a lot on its plate, with seemingly a new movie every year. Rumors even flew around over the summer about a possible Legend of Zelda movie from Illumination. They've also got that duck movie releasing that every theatergoer has been subjected to for months. Remember, The Super Mario Bros. Movie isn't just a Nintendo production, so they must wait until the studio is done with all that other stuff.

It may seem like bait to say, 'There are no updates.' But the fact that such a massive success like the Mario Movie is still waiting on its sequel announcement is a little unusual. Is Nintendo waiting for just the right time? Are they shopping around for another studio? Is everyone reading way too much into 3 sentences from Black? Only time will tell. (Hey, maybe that's a clue that the next one will adapt Mario Is Missing. It's as viable as any other theory right now.)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is available to stream on Netflix.