Miyamoto says Nintendo was hesitant to make a backstory for Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Mario games are always about the gameplay, with the story often having a minimal impact. However, with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the plot and its characters needed to take center stage. This created an interesting dilemma of sorts for Nintendo.

If you’ve seen The Super Mario Bros. Movie or any of its trailers, you obviously know that there’s more to Mario compared to the games – including a bit of a backstory. But Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto said Nintendo felt some hesitation there since “we want Mario to be without restrictions” and going into more of his character “might become a disadvantage for future games.”

Miyamoto said in an interview with Variety:

“Mario is essentially a character created for Nintendo to develop more interesting, innovative games in the future. “We were hesitant to create a backstory because we want Mario to be without restrictions. To establish a background for him might become a disadvantage for future games.”