The team behind the upcoming Super Mario Bros Movie has been hyping up the film for a while now. The movie has moved up its release date by a few days, meaning it’ll arrive on April 5th, a little over a month from now. The glimpses we got at the film through trailers and commercials hint that this will be a familiar yet different take on Mario and the kingdoms he’s been in over the years. But one of the biggest differences people have discussed is with Princess Peach. To be blunt, she seems far more capable than her video game version.
We don’t mean that insulting, but it’s a well-known gaming fact that in virtually every game starring Mario, that isn’t a sports or party game, Princess Peach is kidnapped by Bowser and can’t escape on her own. Certain titles did expand her role, like in the original Paper Mario titles, but those were few and far between. However, things will be much different in the Super Mario Bros Movie. She’ll be a true ruler of her kingdom, meaning she’ll come off as strong, confident, and capable.
That comes right from the mouths of the directors of the film. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic talked about the movie recently, and ComicBook.com noted it, and they said that their version of Peach is based on how they view her kingdom:
“She’s the monarch who leads this kingdom of hapless, adorable Toads. We were thinking how strong that person would need to be to protect those people. All that informed the idea for Peach’s character in our movie.”
If you’re thinking, “well, if Peach isn’t kidnapped, then who needs to be saved?” that would be Luigi. The directors noted that Luigi is the one captured by Bowser, and due to his nervous nature and anxiousness, he is the perfect one to deal with Bowser’s interrogations and the like. It also adds to why Mario would feel compelled to help these people because his brother is in danger versus a woman he just met.
Returning to Princess Peach, some trailers highlighted her more confident persona and hinted that she’d use power-ups like the Fire Flower to help fight Bowser. Showcasing how she’ll be truly active in the fight for freedom.
Many are likely to welcome this change, and with one more trailer left to go before the movie’s debut, we might see more of Peach in action.
