Warning: Spoilers for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ahead.
In addition to introducing fan-favorite characters like Mario’s tongue-whipping green dinosaur pal Yoshi and expanding the universe with crossover additions like Fox McCloud from Star Fox, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie also takes a deeper dive into the origins of Princess Peach, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom.
One of the film’s biggest revelations centers on Peach’s family history. The movie establishes that she is the sister of Princess Rosalina, a powerful cosmic guardian. According to the film’s lore, the two grew up together but were separated when dark forces began pursuing them. In an effort to protect her, Rosalina sent Peach through a warp pipe to the Mushroom Kingdom before the events of the first Super Mario Bros. Movie.
This connection marks a significant departure from the video game series. While Peach and Rosalina have long shared visual similarities and royal status, they have never been explicitly linked as sisters in official game canon. The film’s interpretation reimagines both characters as beings connected by stardust, adding a more mythological layer to their origins.
Interestingly, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto has indicated that this change is one he may carry forward. Speaking to Japanese outlet Nintendo Dream, Miyamoto explained that while he traditionally avoids locking characters into rigid backstories, the creative process behind the film has shifted his perspective.
“Because we don’t know what kind of game we’ll make next with our characters, having too many character settings would become a constraint,” he said. “I’m fine with being bound by the gameplay, but I don’t want to be bound by having created a story, which has been the reason for not making movies for many years.”
He added, “Before making this movie, I hadn’t decided on the character’s backstory. But now that I’m making the movie, it’s become fun to expand on the character in various ways. Therefore, I would like to adhere as much as possible to the settings created in the movie in future games.”
What do you think about this new direction? Does the idea of Princess Peach and Rosalina being sisters feel like a natural and welcome evolution, similar to Mario’s Brooklyn origins in the films? Or is it a change that works better when left open to interpretation?
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