The Super Mario Bros. Movie has "musical aspects" according to Jack Black

It's flippin' Bowser, my dudes
(Image credit: Illumination/Nintendo)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is looking like it'll have some musical aspects, at least according to Jack Black.

Black, who voices Bowser in the upcoming animated film, made a surprise appearance at the Mario movie trailer reveal at New York Comic Con. He arrived wearing a flame print T-shirt, yellow pants, yellow kicks, and a spiked shell backpack (which he subsequently threw into the crowd). 

During his quick Q&A with the panel moderator, Black let it slip that he imbued Bowser with some of his heavy metal spirit. "Bowser has a musical side," he said, before joking that he was considering taking The Super Mario Bros. Movie to Broadway. "There's musical aspects," he said, but wouldn't mention anything else, citing a "spoiler alert." Black also mentioned that he studied for the role by, um, playing Super Mario games - and that's the kind of honesty that makes us love him. 

With Black's extensive musical background (both as the star of School of Rock and the lead of metal band Tenacious D), it's not hard to imagine that the Mario movie will make use of his talents. And when you consider that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Charlie Day is voicing Luigi in the film, the idea of a musical starts to seem even more viable. After all, Day wrote and performed the musical aspects of Always Sunny - and who could forget the genius that is The Nightman Cometh?

Here's hoping the musical bit of The Super Mario Bros. Movie kicks ass - but with that cast behind it, the odds are looking good. 

The Super Mario Bros. Movie releases on March 31, 2023 in the UK, April 7 in North America, and April 28 in Japan. It will be available to stream on Peacock in May.

Check out our list of the most exciting upcoming video game movies in 2022 and beyond.

Alyssa Mercante

Alyssa Mercante is an editor and features writer at GamesRadar based out of Brooklyn, NY. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.

Read more
A Minecraft Movie stills
Jack Black playing Minecraft is the most wholesome thing you'll see all day
Link and Epona
A Zelda movie is finally happening, but Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto used to adamantly oppose the idea even "if Steven Spielberg himself" wanted to do it
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda movie: Everything we know so far about the live-action movie
A Minecraft Movie
A Minecraft Movie release date, trailer, cast, and more news
Jack Black as Steve in A Minecraft Movie.
Jack Black almost played a talking pig instead of Steve in the Minecraft movie, until Mojang realized "very, very late" that the story "needed an expert and host"
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
As Sonic the Hedgehog 3 tears up the box office, its writers now want to adapt The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: "We're putting it out there in the world"
Latest in Animation Movies
Ne Zha 2
After dethroning The Force Awakens, the surprise animated hit taking the box office by storm could claim a record from James Cameron next
Flow
Flow won big as this year's Oscars underdog against Pixar and Netflix, and it's proof of the power of storytelling over dialogue
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
As the new Looney Tunes movie that Warner Bros passed on makes a strong start, one of its artists urges fans to "buy a ticket it and support it" saying "word of mouth and hype works"
Ne Zha 2
After 10 years, a new animated movie has beaten a box office record set by Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Shrek 5
Shrek 5: release date, plot, trailer, news, and more
The Iron Mask
The 32 greatest swashbuckler movies ever made
Latest in News
Final Fantasy 16 protagonist Clive uses magic in closeup screenshot
Despite fans begging for Tifa, Final Fantasy 16's Clive is "significantly more popular" than any other Tekken guest fighter
Spider-Man 4
There might be an obvious reason why Tom Holland's Spider-Man wasn't announced for Avengers: Doomsday
Patrick Stewart in X-Men
Marvel fans are already theorizing how Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and James Marsden's X-Men will be integrated into Avengers: Doomsday
Daredevil: Born Again episode 6
Daredevil's Charlie Cox isn't in the Avengers: Doomsday cast list – but Marvel fans have an idea about how he might still show up
Simu Liu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Simu Liu had the best reaction to Shang-Chi’s announcement for Avengers: Doomsday, but fans think it's "criminal" there hasn’t been a direct sequel
Robert Downey Jr. during the Doctor Doom announcement at Marvel's SDCC 2024 panel
There may still be some big names missing from the Avengers: Doomsday cast list, but Marvel teases that "there's always room for more"