Who Are The "Evil Forces" In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie? 6 Major Candidates

Warning: Spoilers for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie seemingly dropped an ambiguous tease about the next threat to be faced by Mario and Luigi. Of course, there’s been no official confirmation that the story will continue beyond the second film, but the record-breaking success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the growing box office revenue of the sequel makes it hard to believe that it ends here.

Chances are, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad will be back for a third big-screen adventure. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s ending doesn’t directly set up another story, but one scene in the film does allude to the existence of a villain that’s not Bowser or Bowser Jr.

When delving into the backstory of Peach and Rosalina and their relationship as sisters, it’s stated that in the past, “evil forces” were pursuing them. Curiously, Rosalina never identifies this threat.

While it is revealed elsewhere in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie that Bowser knew about Rosalina, there was no indication that he was the one who forced the sisters apart. The movie’s careful avoidance of the name of the enemy chasing Rosalina and Peach certainly implies that it was someone other than him, most likely a character that’s being saved for later.

Because Mario and Luigi games are generally focused on fighting Bowser and his son, there’s only so many characters this tease could have been about, which helps in narrowing down the possible candidates.

6

Wario

Wario is arguably the highest-profile choice for the villain of a possible third Super Mario film, which would have to be the basis of any case for him to be the subject of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s “evil forces” tease. Wario is undoubtedly the biggest character missing from the Super Mario movies, so an appearance in the next one does seem likely.

That said, making Wario an enemy of Rosalina would require some significant changes to how his character is traditionally depicted. Since the “evil forces” in question were after Rosalina and Peach when they were children, it stands to reason that this villain is much older than the main characters.

Presumably, Wario would be close to the same age as Mario and Luigi. He’s usually seen as someone who grew up with Mario and Luigi. To make him fit this tease, he’d have to be aged considerably, becoming more of an uncle-like figure than a childhood acquaintance.

So while it’s possible that Wario is the mystery villain, he’s far from the strongest candidate for the role.

5

The Shroobs

The Shroobs from Mario and Luigi Partners in Time

When teasing the “evil forces” chasing Rosalina and Peach, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie offers what might be perceived as a hint: a purple-tinted light can be spotted in the same frame as the two frightened girls. The purple color might be a sign that the film is setting up the Shroobs, an invasive force that tried to conqueor the Mushroom Kingdom in a 2005 game.

Designed to look like sinister, purple-skinned mushroom creatures akin to Toad, the Shroobs served as the main antagonists of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, a game that saw the two titular heroes use time travel to win the day.

Interestingly, the key component of a time travel story – Professor E. Gadd’s time machine – is something the movie is already in a position to introduce, considering that some of E. Gadd’s inventions are already canon to the Super Mario movies, including Bowser Jr.’s Magic Paintbrush.

With its time travel elements, Partners in Time has an excellent framework for a movie-length narrative, but it remains to be seen if a Super Mario movie would adapt a game that’s not part of the mainline Super Mario series.

4

Fawful

Super Mario Bros Best Villains Bowser Wart Fawful

Fawful fits into the same category as the Shroobs in the sense that he’s from a spinoff series that may not be on the radar of Nintendo and Illumination. But one key difference is that Fawful is a bit more recognizable than the other characters in the Mario & Luigi series, and could be important enough to justify a major villain role.

Not only that, but Fawful has a great villain arc that could work brilliantly for a movie. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Fawful functions as the game’s secondary antagonist. He acts as the chief minion of the main villain, Cackletta. But in the third game in the series, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Fawful escapes Cackletta’s shadow to become the primary antagonist.

In Bowser’s Inside Story, Fawful’s plan was to acquire and absorb the power of an object known as the Dark Star, which resides within the Mushroom Kingdom. It could be explained that in the world of the movies, this power is what binds Rosalina and Peach, and is also the reason why “evil forces” were looking for them.

3

Smithy

Smithy rages with his hammer in a screenshot from Super Mario RPG.

A collaboration between Nintendo and Square Enix (and a game popular enough to receive a 2023 remake on the Nintendo Switch, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars saw Mario, Princess Peach, Bowser, and a few new allies go up against the Smithy Gang, an army of extraterrestrial beings with aspirations of world domination.

Their nature as evil conquerors aligns closely with what The Super Mario Galaxy Movie sets up. There’s also the matter of how the film softens Bowser to a point where he no longer seems sinister enough to work as the main villain. Based on what happened in the movie, it’s easier to imagine working with Mario in their next meeting, which is exactly what happens in Super Mario RPG.

One potential roadblock to a story focused on the Smithy Gang is the fact that the game’s original characters are properties of Square Enix, but that’s not to say this is an issue that can’t be resolved.

2

The Shadow Queen

The mystery villain’s interest in Peach specifically points to the possibility that the third Super Mario movie will reach into the world of the Paper Mario games. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, it’s established that an evil entity called the Shadow Queen was sealed away thousands of years ago. In the present day, the Shadow Queen returns and possesses Princess Peach.

The Shadow Queen’s reputation as an ancient threat would go hand-in-hand with the backstory provided in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, where it’s understood that someone has been pursuing the two sisters for many years.

And since Peach and Rosalina are known to possess tremendous power in the universe of the movies, it would make even more sense than it did in the games for the Shadow Queen to want possession of Princess Peach’s body.

1

Tatanga

A clue about Peach and Rosalina’s unidentifed enemy may have come from an unexpected place. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s post-credits scene officially introduced Princess Daisy, thus laying the groundwork to be a key character if a sequel does happen.

Daisy’s introduction could signal an adaptation of the game that brought her onto the scene, which was Super Mario Land. In Super Mario Land, Mario travels to the world of Sarasaland to rescue Princess Daisy from a purple alien named Tatanga. And in the sequel, Wario uses Mario’s battle with Tatanga as an opening for him to take over the Mushroom Kingdom.

By adapting the Super Mario Land series, games that The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie have notably done very little with, a sequel would have an organic way of utilizing both Wario and Tatanga as main characters.