In a new interview for Universal Entertainment and Fandango’s Seen on the Screen podcast (watch here), Super Mario Galaxy Movie star Brie Larson — who plays Rosalina in the film — opens up about a lot of things, including her passion for gaming, which made this new role so fulfilling.
“Being forward with the fact that I’ve played video games my whole life, and I love video games — the gaming community is much bigger than the film and television world,” Larson told Seen on the Screen Host Jacqueline Coley. “It’s this bizarre thing. Now that I’ve started talking about it more and reaching out and even talking with video game companies — because I find it so inspiring and these are the creators that I love — I’m learning it’s this thing where it’s like: People say, ‘What movies did you see?’ ‘What book are you reading?’ But not so much do you think to ask, ‘What video game are you playing right now?’ I think we’d be surprised more people are playing games. Even people that think, ‘I don’t play.’ But you’re playing a word game with your friends. I think that it’s play. And it’s world-building. There’s so much that video games are taking from cinema. It’s really time for us and cinema to recognize what we can take from video games.”
How The Super Mario Galaxy Movie expands the world of the video game
Indeed, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie builds a world beyond even the most diehard fan’s wildest dreams. The conceit of the game is, of course, in the film, but it’s expanded on. Character motivations and story context, which may not be entirely clear in the Super Mario Galaxy video game, are vividly illustrated in the film adaptation, bringing new meaning to this beloved universe.
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Found family is a thematic tie in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie that fans will appreciate and find particularly heartwarming, Coley mentions in the podcast.
“There’s profound things in this movie,” Larson added. “That’s part of what excites me about it. The person who’s going to see some indie arthouse film is not necessarily the same person that’s going to think to go see an animated movie. Sometimes there’s overlap. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t all need these same messages. I just think it’s a wonderful thing. If you can make a movie that’s for families to enjoy in the theater together that’s really for anyone, and it has a universal message with beloved characters? I mean, come on!”
Watch the rest of Coley and Larson’s conversation on the Seen on the Screen podcast right now! And don’t forget to catch The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in theaters starting April 1, 2026.