‘Super Mario Bros’ Gets A Gritty Reboot On Polaris

There’s certainly no shortage of gritty YouTube reboots of Super Mario Bros. Between Mario Warfare, Mario: Game Over, and the recent ‘Super Mario Brothers Parkour‘ video, gaming’s famous plumbers have been re-imagined in seemingly every way imaginable. Even so, a Hollywood screenwriter has added more fuel to the gritty, gloomily-lit fire. Polaris is the home of The Four Players, a quartet of short films about iconic Super Mario Bros characters.

Each film takes a different character as its subject. The first two releases re-imagine Mario and Luigi, with two more featuring Peach and Toad following right behind.

The dark tone of The Four Players makes sense considering its director. The shorts are helmed by Evan Daugherty, best known for writing gritty fairy tale reboot Snow White and the Huntsman.  “Making these short films gave me a chance to really ‘do my own thing,’ while having a little fun treating one of my favorite video game properties with a darker vibe,” said Daugherty.  “I had been kicking around the idea for years before I was even working in the industry, so to finally be able to share these films with fans on Polaris is a very exciting thing.”

The Four Players is available on Polaris, the gaming hub of multi-channel network Maker Studios. By enlisting a Hollywood screenwriter to create a short film reboot of a popular game franchise, Maker is treading a path we’ve seen from other networks, and should The Four Players garner a significant view count, expect Maker to try to tap Daugherty for a larger project.

“Polaris’ community of savvy, gaming creator-fans is the perfect audience for The Four Players,” said Dar Nothaft, GM of Polaris. “Not only is Evan’s unique take on these four iconic video game characters visually amazing, there are tons of Easter eggs that reward you every time you re-watch these imaginative videos.” Well, I guess I have to re-watch the videos now to find said Easter Eggs. Be right back.