With the final trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie debuting yesterday, and the film hitting theatres on April 5, many LEGO fans expected the company to reveal some movie tie-in sets today — the most hallowed day in the Mushroom Kingdom calendar. Instead, for Mar10 day, LEGO has revealed another expansion to its interactive LEGO Super Mario collection: Dry Bowser and his castle.
In years past, LEGO has actually struggled to sell kids and kidult collectors on sets featuring an extra level of interactive play through mobile devices. Its Hidden Side collection was enhanced with paranormal activity like ghosts only visible through augmented reality effects on a mobile app, but was discontinued in 2020. LEGO Vidiyo took a similar approach, but used an app and AR effects to let kids create music videos with their brick-built creations that could be shared online, but was discontinued in 2022.
LEGO Super Mario, which uses both a mobile app and electronic figures that interact with buildable Super Mario levels, has finally been a huge success for the toy maker, and since its debut in 2020, has seen countless additions, including game elements, and both Luigi and Princess Peach electronic figures joining Mario.
Non-interactive versions of Mario’s arch-nemesis, Bowser, have already made several appearances in the LEGO Super Mario collection, including a massive, 2,807-piece, buildable Mighty Bowser that arrived last year. For Mar10 day, we’re actually getting a variant of the character: Dry Bowser, who first appeared in New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS back in 2006, after Bowser was dropped into lava by Mario. An unfortunate fate, but one that made the character immune to fireball attacks.
The skeletal Dry Bowser has made appearances in other Super Mario games since then, including Mario Kart Wii, and the Mario & Sonic sports games, but is finally joining LEGO Super Mario, and bringing his castle in tow. The new LEGO Super Mario Dry Bowser Castle Battle Expansion Set is built from 1,321-pieces, and tasks the interactive figures with rescuing a Purple Toad who’s being held captive by Bone Piranha Plant, Bone Goombas, fiery Magmaarghs, and Dry Bowser, himself.
The set will be available starting on August 1 from LEGO’s online and brick-and-mortar stores for $US110 ($153).
But the LEGO Super Mario Dry Bowser Castle Battle Expansion Set wasn’t the only thing LEGO revealed during a livestream this morning. At the very end of the stream, a new addition to Mario’s posse was teased: the first Donkey Kong figure that Mario can climb aboard and ride that triggers jungle sound effects. No other details were revealed for Donkey Kong, other than the character would be released some time this Summer.