New Mario movie: Fans react to ‘bizarre’ casting of Chris Pratt as Mario

The animated movie is coming in 2022

A new animated Super Mario Bros. film is in the works and the casting for the project has been revealed today (24 September).

Chris Pratt will play Mario alongside Charlie Day who will play Luigi from the beloved Nintendo game series.

Anya Taylor-Joy will play Princess Peach and supervillain Bowser will be voiced by School of Rock actor Jack Black.

Other members of the cast include Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike.

Pratt’s casting as Mario caused a stir on Twitter, with one fan deeming it “bizarre” and another said: “Chris Pratt being the voice actor for Mario has to be the strangest thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.”

You can see some more of the reaction here:

The film is being made by Chris Meledandri’s Illumination label; Nintendo and Universal are co-financing the project according to Variety.

Announcing the cast at the Nintendo Direct streaming event, Meledandri said: “Mario and Luigi are two of the most beloved heroes in all of popular culture, and we are honored to have the unique opportunity to work so closely with Shigeru Miyamoto and the widely imaginative team at Nintendo to bring these characters to life in an animated movie, unlike any film Illumination has made to date.”

“We are collaborating with Chris 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,” added Miyamoto.

“The production so far is constructive and going very well, and both parties are learning a lot from each other. We humbly ask that fans wait just a little longer for the premiere, and we hope they look forward to seeing the unique characters from Super Mario Bros. on the big screen.”

The film is set to appear in cinemas on 21 December 2022, via Universal Pictures.