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.