One of the strangest Mario theories ever dreamed up is that the 1988 video game "Super Mario Bros. 3" was actually a stage play put on by the characters. It's an odd one to be sure, but when you consider the bolted blocks, hanging backgrounds, all of the curtains, and the fact that Mario exits stage right, it all comes together. Reddit user u/emitremmus27 even included a visual aid in his claims, with one user commenting that, when the game is finished, the characters all take a bow before the final curtain.
As outlandish as this might sound, it's actually completely true. In a Q&A on the X platform with Nintendo's U.K. account, Shigeru Miyamoto, the man who invented Mario, confirmed this theory. "YES," he replied after being asked if the game was all a performance (via Kotaku). It doesn't get much simpler than that. When you consider all the wild and inventive things the Mario games have done over the years (no, we're not counting that live-action "Super Mario Bros." movie), it shouldn't come as a complete shock, but it is a fun fan theory that turned out to be right on the money.
With Mario's recent return to the big screen (successfully this time), we'll likely be seeing more of our favorite plumber and his scaredy-cat brother. Maybe in the next movie, the characters will put on a performance of their own.
