The recent trailers for the Super Mario Bros. Movie shocked fans by actually making the video game adaptation look good. As the movie ramps up advertising and marketing for its upcoming April 2023 release date, more and more details about the film have been leaking to the public, including a flyer showing McDonald’s Happy Meal toys. The upcoming Happy Meal toys will be based on the Super Mario Bros. movie and include figures of the main characters like Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Bowser.
However, one toy stands out among the Happy Meal line-up. Based on the flyer, the last toy is that of a chubby little star, looking a lot like a Luma. Lumas are stars that help create new galaxies and were first introduced in Super Mario Galaxy. Lumas are under the care of fan-favorite character Princess Rosalina, and wherever there is a Luma, that generally means Rosalina is not too far behind.
From what has been shown, the Super Mario Bros. Movie appears to be based more on the classic Mario games on the NES and SNES, with some influence from Mario Kart and Super Mario 64. There doesn’t appear to be any indication that Super Mario Galaxy will play a role in the film, yet Luma can be teased for a future entry in the Mario film series, potentially a post-credit scene.
Miscommunications with toy manufacturers often lead to toys being released or revealed earlier than anticipated, spoiling plot points about the product before it officially comes out. This is why a lot of times toys and other merchandising will leak major motion blockbusters. This may be the case for the Luma toy being revealed on the Happy Meals flyer. However, toy manufacturers would also often make figures not based on the final product. On occasion, manufacturers will need to fill a quota of the number of toys they need to create and would fill up the quota with generic toys from that same franchise. So Mcdonald’s may be releasing a Luma toy not because the character will appear in the film but because they had an extra slot it needed to fill for its Happy Meals.
