There's no denying that the all-star cast for the upcoming Super Mario movie is impressive, but the casting of Chris Pratt as the title character has definitely raised some eyebrows. After all, it is a little weird to think about the Guardians of the Galaxy star putting on a stereotypical Italian accent!
During a recent interview with Too Fab, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri said that Pratt's Mario voice is "phenomenal" and added that he "can't wait for people to hear it."
While Luigi actor Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) comes from Italian heritage - Meledandri said that's a part of the movie's "nod" to Italian culture - he confirmed that we won't necessarily hear Pratt reeling off "It's-a me, Mario!"-style catchphrases throughout the course of the movie.
"We cover it in the movie, so you'll see that we definitely nod to that. But that's not the tenor of the performance throughout the film," the producer confirmed, seemingly making it clear that this take on the iconic plumber won't have an imitation of the classic video game accent. Of course, for some purists, that will be disappointing, but you can't please everyone!
We'll see what happens with this one, but that first look should be interesting. If nothing else, you have to imagine it will be received more warmly than Sonic the Hedgehog's teaser ever was.
What we do know is that the Super Mario movie will hit theaters on December 21, 2022.