Nintendo has been working on a new, animated feature film about Mario, and during a Nintendo Direct presentation yesterday, the video game maker announced who would be voicing the film’s various characters.
Leading that cast? Guardians of the Galaxy/Jurassic World (pictured above)/The Tomorrow War actor Chris Pratt, as Mario. He’s a bit of an odd choice to play a squeaky Italian plumber, and the rest of the cast looks appropriately bonkers as well.
Joining Pratt is The Queen’s Gambit‘s Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jumanji: The Next Level‘s Jack Black as Bowser, Charlie Day as Luigi, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, and Sebastian Maniscalco as Foreman Spike. It’s going to be a weird experience, seeing this in theaters (or on Peacock or wherever).
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Chris Pratt as Mario
Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach
Charlie Day as Luigi
Jack Black as Bowser
Keegan-Michael Key as Toad
Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong
Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong
Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek
Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike
Cameos from Charles Martinet pic.twitter.com/Yio2pql1Jy— Illumination (@illumination) September 23, 2021
Super Mario Bros. is set to be released in December 21st, 2022 from Illumination, the same studio that’s produced Despicable Me, Secret Life of Pets, The Lorax, and others. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Teen Titans Go! and Teen Titans Go! To The Movies directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic will helm the film, which has been written by Minions: The Rise of Gru screenwriter Matthew Fogel. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto will serve as an executive producer.
In a statement to THR, Miyamoto explained that they were hoping to bring Mario to a new generation of players and newcomers, and that “The production so far is constructive and going very well, and both parties are learning a lot from each other.”
This isn’t the first time that Mario’s starred in a movie—there was the 1993 Super Mario Bros. live action film, which Chris Lough says is “great.”
On Instagram, Pratt shot a short video in which he spoke about how he came to first play the classic Nintendo game, saying that the role was a dream come true. His impression of the character is a bit… wanting, and he says that we’ll have to wait a while before we hear what he actually sounds like.
