Luigi Needs A Spin-Off Sequel

For a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the mind races with possibilities. The franchise is more than forty years old at this point and has an exotic, distinct variety of installments. Mario has gone into space, been on holiday to a beach resort, and traveled the world with a body-snatching hat. However, a solid sequel can’t simply give audiences an all-you-can-eat buffet of different ideas and concepts carved out of its many titles. Luckily, a smaller spin-off series from the games presents an obvious next step for the so-called Mario Cinematic Universe, and Luigi would be front and center as the main protagonist.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie took inspiration from many parts of the series to create a fairly vanilla origin story for the lead character. It was a decision designed to ease audiences into a new franchise, while also pleasing older fans expecting a faithful adaptation. The film’s formula was extremely successful, becoming the first video game film ever to gross over $1 billion at the box office. But a sequel that doesn’t dare to try something different could become a disappointing follow-up.

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Charlie Day’s Luigi was one of the highlights of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It was, in many ways, a perfect casting, full of charm and nervous energy. Day brought justice to a character that is beloved by fans of all stripes; a love that is particularly tied up in the Luigi’s Mansion series, an offshoot of the main games. The first Luigi’s Mansion was released for the GameCube in 2001, and the sequels have only grown in popularity. To many gamers, they are held in high regard as a fan favorite. So, as Nintendo shops around for more source material, they should look no further than this cherished classic.

Luigi Needs His Time In The Spotlight

Mario Who?

Audiences and critics took note of Luigi’s lack of screen time in the 2023 film. Brad Curran of Screen Rant highlighted that Luigi had essentially traded places with Princess Peach, relegating him to a secondary role in the story at large. The ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom’s role was massively expanded, giving her more importance to the wider plot. She was the main source of Mario’s emotional support, teaching him how to platform, use power-ups, and navigate the dangers of her world. Ultimately, it made perfect sense that the writers would want to modernize a damsel-in-distress that had received very little development outside of her strange love triangle between the game’s hero and villain.

Luigi was relevant up to a point. However, his spooky subplot in the Dark Lands was short-lived. After his capture, imprisonment, and torture at the hands of King Bowser, he faded quickly into the periphery of the film. While Luigi did eventually get a big onscreen moment, saving Mario’s life and fighting Bowser in the epic final showdown, it still felt like the movie neglected to fully explore their relationship. Their brotherly bond was left by the wayside during the film’s second act, nor was it challenged in any way, or re-interpreted with a new vision.

The games have always shown Luigi to be the more cowardly one, whereas Mario is often characterized as the bolder, more boisterous leader of the duo. Luigi’s Mansion not only inverts their hierarchy, putting Luigi in the lead role, it also makes Mario the helpless damsel waiting for rescue. However, it would still be preferable to see the two partnering up, rather than one immediately getting captured. Either way, Luigi needs to assume a more hands-on role in the sequel, which would go a long way in giving the onscreen character some personal growth.

A Luigi’s Mansion Spin-Off Already Has A Proof Of Concept

Haunted Houses Are All The Rage

Luigi’s time in the Dark Lands is evidence enough that the team at Illumination Entertainment are more than capable of creating an eerie atmosphere. The twisted and hellish landscape made Luigi’s lone escapades all the more frightening. The Dry Bones jumpscare, the subsequent chase sequence, and the ensuing swarm of undead Koopas were genuinely unnerving and thrilling. For a family franchise where Dry Bones and Shy Guys are just as often portrayed as cute additions to Mario Party and Mario Kart, the film managed to present them in an eerie light.

The decrepit, dilapidated castle Luigi eventually took refuge in felt like it would fit seamlessly into the Luigi’s Mansion series. The sequence was also a great prelude to how Day would handle a horror film built on Luigi’s timidness, but also his bravery and resourcefulness when facing supernatural threats.

Which Luigi’s Mansion Title Should The Film Pull From?

Pick Your Proverbial Poison

The set-up in the original Luigi’s Mansion game would be an ideal opener to any potential spin-off. A surprise letter offering Luigi a mansion from a contest he never took part in would immediately establish an underlying mystery. It would also be a more novel beginning to a second Mario movie, one that casual audience-goers wouldn’t be expecting.

For the main body of the story, the film should take inspiration from the most recent release: Luigi’s Mansion 3. The third story in the trilogy switches up the formula of the first two games by having Luigi explore a haunted hotel. The hotel’s vertical structure enhances the suspense and stakes felt by the player, literally building the tension layer by layer. There is something that feels quite natural about the linear path of an elevator translating to a film’s narrative. All of it building to Luigi’s archemesis, King Boo, for a showdown at the very top of the skyscraper, which would make for a great spine-chilling onscreen finale.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 also improved on the puzzles and level design laid out in the first two. With fitness centers, film studios, shopping malls, and dance floors featured on the hotel’s many levels, a writing team would be spoiled for choice when designing the journey of the movie’s protagonists.

Wherever Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto decide to take The Super Mario Bros. Movie franchise next, it would be amiss to ignore an obvious spin-off staring them right in the face. A ghost-busting adventure would be a perfect way to make things slightly darker, raise the stakes, and give an eventual sequel film a hair-raising, edgier look to stand out from the first.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

6/10

Release Date

April 5, 2023

Runtime

93 minutes

Director

Michael Jelenic, Aaron Horvath

Writers

Matthew Fogel

Producers

Chris Meledandri, Shigeru Miyamoto

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  Chris Pratt

  Mario (voice)

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  Anya Taylor-Joy

  Princess Peach (voice)