Out of all the characters that we were likely to see in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, very few of us could have guessed Wart would be making an appearance prior to his reveal. The antagonist of Super Mario Bros. 2 might not get a lot of love from Nintendo these days, but his cameo proved the film's commitment to keeping gamers' eyes open, as they never know who could pop up on screen next.
Speaking to Polygon (in the same interview where he dashed our hopes for a Super Smash Bros. movie), Shigeru Miyamoto explained why Wart returned, and why he gets so little attention these days.
"In the world of Super Mario Bros., there's the 'Land' series. And then there's also Super Mario Bros. 2, where Wart is from. These are characters that specifically only exist in the world of Super Mario Bros. 2, and yet those are characters that I really liked. There's also Birdo, sort of like Yoshi, but not like Yoshi. I really like those characters. When I got the pitch from Illumination to use some of these characters, I said, 'Oh, great. I would love to see them in other mediums.' So it was a great idea," Miyamoto said.
Illumination chief Chris Meledandri added: "I believe it was our writer, Matt Fogel, who first came up with the idea of how to use Wart in the film. But what's amazing about this process of making these movies is that our teams are filled with Nintendo fans. You have people coming up with ideas that go back to what their favourite characters were. The process of making the movie is always a process of these ideas popping up and then we have this fun discussion about Do they fit? How could they fit? Does it feel right for Miyamoto-san? But we were really happy with how Wart was finally realized in the film."
Does Wart's cameo make or break The Super Mario Galaxy Movie? No, not really, but it's a lovely nod to the people who remember him fondly (or perhaps not so fondly, considering his villainous past). For more thoughts on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, check out our review here.