Could "divorcing" Mario be enough to save SMBX?

I haven't posted much, but I've read up on the history of this engine and the reason its development stopped, and It got my thinking.  This is a very solid and fun side scrolling game engine,  it's a shame that work could not continue on SMBX, due seemingly to the "Mario" aspect of it.

Perhaps this topic as been bought up before,  but why couldn't the engine be re-branded and improved upon without the obvious ties to the Mario franchise?  Would the engine itself still be a problem for Nintendo if it were offered as-is with no graphics,  and user could simply download the graphics (Most likely Mario related) of their choice specifically for their game, but do so independently as fan of the game, more so then users of the software.

Ideally, The "Hard Coded" Graphics would have to be fixed to work like all the others,  and work should start on an official "vanilla" graphics set (If only to say "see it's not Mario.")  Next would be the "Mario Paint" feel of the level editor,  Its nostalgic feeling is cool and all but again I can't help but feel that its too closely related to Nintendo IP.  Besides there are many more efficient interface styles out there, that could make level editing a smoother process.  From there the focus should be on making as much customizable as possible (More options to modify Heroes, Powers-ups, Enemies etc.)  It is healthy for the future of the engine to allow for a diversity of games to be made with it, even from the stand point that most will use it to make Mario games.

I'd love to see more stuff like this and hate it when something like this can't be seen to its fullest potential.  This is merely my thoughts on the matter, and likely mere wishful thinking on my part, Take or leave it.

The creator of SMBX is literally planning to create exactly what you just said.