When the original Wreck-It Ralph came out in 2012, it had loads of video game references, including major appearances from video game icons like Pac-Man and Sonic The Hedgehog. But, one very obvious omission was that of the one and only Mario. He was mentioned in name, but not shown in the movie. The directors noted that they wanted him in the movie, but couldn’t fit him in. So, with the announcement of Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks The Internet, it seemed perfect for Mario to finally get his cameo. Right? Well…
…no. For despite many rumors and such saying that Mario would be in the film, story artist Jason Hand confirmed during an interview that Nintendo’s favorite plumber wouldn’t make it in:
Some of the stuff was that we don’t have rights to certain characters, because we’re working in a world of other people’s media. It’s like, that would have been really funny if we could have Mario [from Nintendo’s Super Mario games] in here doing this part, but it doesn’t end up working out because of that, and it’s fine and the story doesn’t actually end up needing it. But as individual bits, it’s like “That’s a great ‘Saturday Night Live’ bit!” Rich [Moore] and Phil [Johnston, the movie’s co-directors] are pretty much full of those things so it’s an endless amount of great ideas, honestly.
When asked about why Mario didn’t make it in, he only noted, “That’s above my pay grade.”
Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks The Internet arrives on November 21st (without Mario…) in theaters everywhere.
