Chris Pratt has certainly gone a long way from Parks and Recreation and has found himself as a lead of several blockbuster properties from Jurassic World to The LEGO Movie. Now he’s been cast in another big animated property from Illumination.
As announced by Shigeru Miyamoto himself, Pratt will be leading the star-studded cast of an animated Super Mario Bros. movie. Here’s the announcement from Nintendo Direct 2021:
Alongside Pratt will be Charlie Day (Luigi), Anya Taylor-Joy (Peach), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), and Jack Black (Bowser).
The film will be directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and will be using a script from The LEGO Movie 2 and Minions writer Matthew Fogel.
Admittedly, a lot of Super Mario fans were disappointed that longtime voice actor of Mario, Charles Martinet, wasn’t cast in the lead role, but seeing as how the industry is, it would make sense that they would want some big-name stars to draw in audience members who aren’t familiar with the franchise in the first place. Miyamoto says:
“We are collaborating with [Illumination head Chris Meledandri] and his experienced team to not just create a character licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros. to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy whether or not they know about the game.”
Though fans were able to get Sonic the Hedgehog redesigned, I don’t think the same could be said for the cast of Mario. Hopefully they bring in Martinet for a cameo role.
WHAT HAVE I DONE?! https://t.co/feAVAENfQW
— Lizstar (@_Lizstar_) September 23, 2021
Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros film is set to come out on Dec. 21, 2022.
(Source: Variety)
