Retro Gaming Australia

Some people have fond memories of the Super Mario Bros. movie. Others call it the “worst piece of shit movie” they’ve ever been involved with. Whatever your stance is, you may be curious to read about how the film evolved while it was being written.

A site dedicated to the film, Super Mario Bros: The Movie Archive has unearthed four early drafts of the film’s script. One of the scripts is a major departure from the final film, actually being closer to the source material.

In this version of the script, Koopa kidnaps Luigi’s girlfriend Hildy to be his bride so he can access the Crown of Invincibility. Mario, Luigi and Toad, now a wisecracking sidekick, set off to rescue her. This version of the script is very light on story, but very heavy on references to the games.

This original script was scrapped after the project’s original director, Greg Beeman, jumped ship. When Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton got on board, they started looking for scripts that were a little more “adult”, leading to the script revisions that the site dubs the Ghostbusters, Die Hard and Mad Max inspired versions. What a mess.

Source: Super Mario Bros: The Movie Archive via GameSetWatch