Super Mario Galaxy Movie Explores a Classic Character from 1985

You might have been cautiously excited about the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy Movie on April 3, but perhaps you were skeptical about whether your favorite character, R.O.B. the Robot, would make an appearance. Well, get ready to grab those tickets, because it turns out that R.O.B. will indeed be part of the film, as hinted by his tiny cameo in a new tie-in toy set.

Recently, a wave of Super Mario Galaxy Movie merchandise has been unveiled, set to hit shelves in the first week of April. Among the offerings is a six-inch Yoshi egg featuring a chatty Yoshi, already available for pre-order in the UK for a staggering £60 ($81). There’s also a Bowser Castle Playset and star-shaped launchers that send characters flying into your view.

Amidst all these exciting reveals, one particular robot stands out. A clearer image surfaced in a YouTube review of the Super Mario Galaxy Movie Jakks Gateway Galaxy Playset:

R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) first debuted as a peripheral for the NES back in 1985. Since then, he’s made sporadic appearances in various games, notably showing up in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars in 1996, featuring in several WarioWare titles, and being a playable character in Mario Kart DS and Super Smash Bros. However, it’s worth noting that he didn’t appear in the original Super Mario Galaxy.

R.O.B.’s inclusion suggests that the Mario Galaxy movie may not be a straightforward adaptation of the games’ narrative but rather an effort to pack in as many Mario references as possible to appeal to nostalgic fans, while hoping the vibrant visuals keep younger audiences entertained. So far, the trailers haven’t indicated a coherent plot, instead bombarding viewers with nods to familiar franchise elements, with a significant emphasis on Super Mario Odyssey.