‘Mario Galaxy’ Movie Merch Reveals Subtle Redesign for Toad

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Although The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doesn’t come out until April 3rd, early merchandise reveals a slightly updated look for the character Toad. Actor Keegan-Michael Key, who voices Toad, has mentioned for months that the character would be going through a bit of a transformation in the film.

We now understand his previous comment. Photos discovered by The Direct reveal a headlamp has been added to the character, hinting at a design inspired by Toad’s appearance in the Super Mario Galaxy and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker games.

In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Toad helped Mario on his journey and worked alongside Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). He wore his signature red and white mushroom cap, a blue vest, and carried a backpack. The addition of a headlamp suggests he might become Captain Toad and have a bigger part to play in a future Galaxy adventure.

First Look at the Redesign

The redesigned Toad first appeared in a memory game for young children called Spin ‘N Match, made by Epoch Games and themed around the galaxy. A pinball machine based on a movie and the packaging for a balancing game also showed off Toad’s new headlamp. According to The Direct, Epoch Games is actively removing images of this new merchandise from the internet due to copyright concerns.

As someone who loves games like Super Mario Galaxy and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, I think fans will immediately get what this new take on Toad is all about. What really has me wondering, though, is if this slight redesign hints at bigger things for Toad in the Mario movie – could we maybe see him lean into that Captain Toad personality? It’d be a fun twist!

Captain Toad first appeared in Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii as the leader of the Toad Brigade. He wears a headlamp mainly to scare away Boos—those white, ghost-like enemies—and this continues to be its main purpose in newer games, also helping to make Captain Toad stand out from other Toads.

The recent Super Mario Bros. Movie didn’t feature any ghosts, aside from a quick appearance by King Boo from the Luigi’s Mansion games. However, the upcoming Galaxy movie might introduce more ghostly characters. Nintendo and Illumination have hinted at plans to expand the Mario universe with spin-off movies and new characters, creating a full cinematic universe.

What the Headlamp Really Means

We’ve seen hints of changes to Toad in toys related to the upcoming movie, but this isn’t the first time merchandise has given us a sneak peek at what’s to come. Last November, a Pillsbury cookie dough kit seemed to confirm Yoshi will appear in the film. The packaging also included what looked like Rosalina’s Comet Observatory from the Super Mario Galaxy games.

Brie Larson will be voicing Princess Rosalina in the upcoming Super Mario movie, and she made an appearance in the trailer alongside Bowser Jr., who will be voiced by Benny Safdie. Most of the original voice actors, including Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Keegan-Michael Key, are returning for the sequel. While Seth Rogen won’t be back as Donkey Kong for this film, a separate movie focused on his character is reportedly in the works.

As a critic, I was genuinely surprised by how much of a phenomenon The Super Mario Bros. Movie became last year – it raked in a whopping $1.36 billion globally! Now that audiences are rediscovering it on streaming, I’m thinking Galaxy has a real shot at surpassing that success. And speaking of the future, did anyone notice the updated Toad design? It feels like we’re getting a glimpse of where Illumination plans to take this expanding franchise, and honestly, I’m intrigued.

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2026-01-04 20:56