Super Mario Bros. Movie Actor Reveals Why He Thinks He Won’t Be in the Sequel

When the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie arrives in theaters, it’s a safe bet viewers can expect a bunch of new and returning characters. While Nintendo and Universal have been largely quiet about which characters to expect in the film, some are safer bets than others. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Bowser should all be back, but what about deeper cuts like Spike? The Wrecking Crew character was voiced by Sebastian Maniscalco in the first one, but the comedian is unsure about the sequel. While speaking to ScreenRant, Maniscalco used Super Nintendo World to rationalize his lack of confidence.

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“This is the story of my career. I’ll give you an example of this. So, we went to Universal Studios, and they had a Super Mario store with all the merchandise. I was with my kids, I go, ‘Guys, come on. I’m going to show you daddy’s character in a stuffed animal.’ No Spike, no nothing,” Maniscalco told ScreenRant. “It stopped at me. It was every other character, and then me, I have no animal, no stuffy, no nothing. So, the fact that I didn’t have a stuffed animal is not giving me a lot of confidence that I’m coming back for the sequel. I haven’t heard anything, so your guess is as good as mine. [Chuckles]”

It should be noted that Spike isn’t exactly a major Nintendo character. Outside of his debut in the original Wrecking Crew, Spike’s appearances have been pretty limited over the years. He’s also a character that got a name change in Japan partially as a result of the movie, and he now shares a name with a totally different Mario family character. Given these reasons, it’s not too surprising that Spike’s character hasn’t gotten much in the way of merchandise. Plus, it’s not like kids are clamoring for a stuffy of Mario and Luigi’s mean boss!

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That probably doesn’t say anything about Spike’s likelihood of coming back, but it’s a pretty funny explanation on Maniscalco’s part. On top of the fact that Spike is a pretty minor character in the Mario canon, it’s possible he won’t return since his arc wrapped up nicely; while he starts out being pretty cruel to Mario and Luigi early on in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, he can be seen cheering them on by the film’s finale. The sequel isn’t set to arrive in theaters until April 3rd, 2026, so it could be a while before Universal and Nintendo would have to reach out about Spike’s return in the movie. Hopefully we’ll start to learn more about the film as we get into 2025!

Do you think we’ll see Spike’s return in The Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel? Are there specific characters you’d like to see appear? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!