Nintendo’s animated Super Mario Bros. film has been postponed until next spring, although it still stars Chris Pratt

During a Nintendo Direct event last fall, the firm revealed a release date for the animated Super Mario Bros. film it’s working on with Illumination, the Minions animation studio. The studio has now stated that the film will not be released in theatres on December 21st as previously scheduled, but will instead be released in the spring of 2023.

According to a tweet attributed to Mario inventor Shigeru Miyamoto, the new release dates for the Super Mario Bros. film are April 28th in Japan and April 7th in North America, following consultation with co-producer Chris Meledandri. The tweet did not provide an explanation for how Chris Pratt will play Mario, a title, or any of the other questions that arose when the project was announced in 2018.

Anya Taylor-Joy will play Princess Peach, Charlie Day will play Luigi, Jack Black will play Bowser, Seth Rogan will play Donkey Kong, Keegan-Michael Key will play Toad, and Fred Armisen will play Cranky Kong. Chris Martinet, a long-time Mario voice actor, will also appear in the film, though it’s unknown how.

Miyamoto claimed that the film will be “well worth the wait,” and the success of the original Sonic the Hedgehog film demonstrates how accurate that can be. The first film required a three-month wait so that animators could correct Sonic after spectators reacted negatively to the first trailer, but it was a smash hit when it was released. There are no indications of comparable concerns with the Mario film, and while we still don’t know much about it, Deadline claims that the delay is for “optimizing the family audience,” with an Easter weekend release next year. It’s just a coincidence that it could coincide with the opening of the first US Super Nintendo World theme park and Nintendo’s sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.