Anya Taylor-Joy says she is a ‘gamer’ now after preparing for Princess Peach role in The Super Mario Bros Movie

Taylor-Joy stars opposite Chris Pratt and Seth Rogen in forthcoming film

Anya Taylor-Joy has said she is now a “gamer” after preparing for her role in The Super Mario Bros Movie.

Taylor-Joy, 26, lends her voice to Princess Peach in the forthcoming film, which stars Chris Pratt as Mario.

Charlie Day stars as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, while Saturday Night Live star Fred Armisen voices Cranky Kong.

In an interview with Modern Luxury San Diego, Taylor-Joy said the research for her role as Princess Peach had turned her into a video game enthusiast.

“So now I am a gamer, and it’s really fun,” she said. “Ideally, I like playing at arcades, because, again, it’s like cinema; I love the ceremony. I’ll go with a whole bunch of friends. And we’ll just spend hours at the arcade.”

The film is directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic from a script by Matthew Fogel.

Pratt’s casting as the famous Italian plumber has attracted criticism, including from John Leguizamo – who played Luigi in the 1993 live-action film Super Mario Bros. The Latin actor called the casting “backwards”.

Following Taylor-Joy’s role in The Super Mario Bros Movie, she will take on a very different part in Furiosa,  the prequel to George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road.

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The Queen’s Gambit star will play a younger version of the character portrayed in the 2015 movie by Charlize Theron.

Taylor-Joy – who has starred in a number of thrillers including Robbert Eggers’s The Witch and The Northman – said of the forthcoming film: “It’s the dirtiest and the bloodiest I have ever been, which is saying something, genuinely saying something.”

The Super Mario Bros Movie opens in theatres on 7 April 2023.

Furiosa, which also stars Chris Hemsworth, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Tom Burke, is scheduled for a theatrical release in 2024.