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Lando is Yoshi as Donald Glover joins The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Donald Glover has had turns in both the Star Wars and MCU franchises. Now he's playing the iconic green dinosaur in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Super Mario Galaxy Movie Yoshi And Luigi
Image credit: Illumination

The cast of The Super Mario Bros. Movie was already ridiculous, but the sequel is adding even more stars (pardon the pun). Not only is Wednesday’s Luiz Guzman coming in a Wart from Super Mario Bros. 2 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s Issa Rae playing Honey Queen, but Donald Glover is taking time from his long-gestating Star Wars role as Lando to play… Yoshi in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

We knew that Yoshi was coming in the sequel thanks to an after-credits teaser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but it is a little shocking that they’ve cast Donald Glover, who has had brief turns in both the Star Wars and MCU franchises, as well as being known for his role in Community, as the iconic green dinosaur. Yoshi has a famously limited vocabulary, consisting entirely of his own name said in a cutesy voice, so getting someone known for their cutting wit and humor is a surprising choice, but it fits in with the whole cast of these films feeling like a box office fever dream.

The latest trailer still doesn’t give us any indication of how Donald “Childish Gambino” Glover is going to bring personality to a character that doesn’t really talk. Unlike Vin Diesel as Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, there isn’t much variation in how Yoshi talks. However, our confusion is overshadowed by our excitement for the film, which brings our beloved Rosalina to the big screen for the first time. We suppose Glover has to do something as we wait for his Lando movie to make it out of development hell.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is out on April 1, 2026, with Donald Glover, Luis Guzman, and Issa Rae joining the cast, along with Brie Larson as Princess Rosalina.


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Trent Cannon

Trent Cannon: Trent is a freelance writer who has been covering anime, video games, and pop culture for a decade. (He/Him)

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