Chris Pratt is ready to bring something new to the Mario landscape, whether we’re ready to or not. While talking with Variety during the premiere of his new Amazon Prime series The Terminal List, the actor discussed the direction he will take for the upcoming Illumination Entertainment and Universal film being produced based on the popular Nintendo character.
I worked really closely with the directors and trying out a few things and landed on something that I’m really proud of and can’t wait for people to see and hear. It’s an animated voiceover narrative. It’s not a live-action movie. I’m not gonna be wearing a plumber suit running all over. I’m providing a voice for an animated character, and it is updated and unlike anything you’ve heard in the Mario world before.
Chris Pratt
This quote from Chris Pratt certainly piques interest into what exactly is planned for this film adaptation of the Super Mario Bros franchise. Many questions and concerns have been raised about Pratt’s casting and the risk of him providing a needlessly stereotypical performance. Though having a wildly different interpretation of the character also runs the risk of alienating audiences familiar with the source material for the sake of fitting a square peg in a round hole with Chris Pratt as Mario. His involvement with the film also has come with a large amount of fatigue based on the actor being cast in a large swath of animated projects portraying the main protagonist.
Pratt’s analysis of his performance also comes off of Illumination’s CEO Chris Menedandri giving high praise for what the actor is bringing to the role. It will be interesting to see whether these quotes end up holding actual merit, or are simply a means to draw empty good-will and early marketing towards the project.
Along with Pratt, the untitled film is set to co-star with the likes of Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, and Seth Rogen. The film is being directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic of Teen Titan Go! fame and is scheduled to release on April 7, 2023.
Source: Variety
