Unreleased cameos in The Super Mario Bros. Movie revealed

Nintendo originally planned even more cameos for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, including a character from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Recently uncovered storyboards from the film’s development show how an earlier version of Peach and Bowser’s wedding sequence would have played out, with even more guests than appeared in the final movie.

Discoveries in the storyboards

The plans to include more characters in the wedding scene are visible in the storyboards, including the Whomp King, Wart, Mouser, and Birdo. The latter three later appeared in the recent film The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. One notable cameo that ended up on the cutting-room floor is Rawk Hawk, a character Mario franchise veterans will remember from the GameCube classic Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Rawk Hawk was introduced as an antagonist in the game’s memorable WWE-style arena.

The story behind Rawk Hawk

Rawk Hawk is a man-eagle hybrid who had plenty of fans in the early years of the Paper Mario series. In an earlier version of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, viewers would have finally seen a 3D version of this papercraft figure, something that now remains on the cutting-room floor. The reason for removing the character is currently unclear, while other cameos such as King Bob-omb and King Boo did make it into the final film.

Alternate wedding scenarios

Beyond the removed cameos, the unused storyboards also show an alternate version of the wedding where Peach and Toad stage a fake argument. The spat serves as a distraction so Toad can secretly hand over the Ice Flower, which Peach then uses to freeze Bowser at the last moment. The funny dialogue in these scenes highlights the film’s comedic tone: