Some have already declared it game over for the Super Mario Bros. movie. An animated film based on the classic Nintendo game was announced on Thursday, receiving swift backlash for casting non-Italian Chris Pratt as Mario. Pratt confirmed his casting on Instagram, even pulling out a celebratory “It’s-a me, Mario!” The actor then clarified that he doesn’t plan on using that accent in the movie, but he’s “working hard on it.”
Joining Pratt in Super Mario Bros. is Charlie Day as Mario’s brother Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek. (Luckily, Elon Musk and Grimes have decided to hang up their Mario cosplay after SNL.)
Since the casting was unveiled, Italian-Americans and their allies have wasted no time expressing their displeasure with Pratt playing Mario—mostly facetiously, though some people do seem earnestly against the idea. The Sopranos and Goodfellas memes reigned on Twitter as people poked fun at the possibilities of Pratt’s accent and rallied for alternate casting, though not many pointed out that Mario is a creation of Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto—also famously not Italian.
Illumination Studios and Nintendo have yet to comment on any controversy, only stating in a press release that “each voice actor was cast for their ability to capture the unique spirit of their character,” per Deadline. Illumination founder Chris Meledandri and Nintendo’s Miyamoto will produce the film. Teen Titans Go! Duo Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic are set as directors, while The Lego Movie 2 writer Matthew Fogel will pen the script.
This isn’t the first time Mario and Luigi have been brought to the big screen. Lest you forget the 1993 live-action epic Super Mario Bros starring Bob Hoskins (also not Italian) as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi. The world has time to process this news: Super Mario Bros. won’t hits theaters until December 21, 2022. Mamma Mia!
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