Ever wanted to hear Chris Pratt voice Nintendo’s famous Italian plumber Mario? Or maybe Seth Rogen voice . . . Donkey Kong? How about Jack Black as one of the most iconic video game villains of all time—though one with very few actual lines?
Well your wish has been granted, even if the princess is in another castle. The cast of the upcoming animated Super Mario Bros movie (that I’ve actually never heard of until just now) is quite resplendent with popular talent. A star-studded cast, as they say in showbiz.
Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Seth Rogen, Jack Black—these are just a few of the famous people who will take on iconic video game characters from our youth (and our middle-age) in the upcoming animated film from the makers of Sing and Despicable Me.
Nintendo’s most famous video game is going to the big leagues or at least the big screens, assuming the theater business survives the next 15 months or so.
Here’s who’s who in the Mario movie:
The Plumbers
- Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) will play Mario
- Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) will play Luigi
The Princess and Her Entourage
- Anya Taylor-Joy (Queen’s Gambit) will play Princess Peach
- Keegan-Michael Key (Key and Peele) will play Toad
The Villains
- Jack Black (School Of Rock) will play Bowser
- Kevin Michael Richardson (of the distinctly deep voice) will play Kamek
- Sebastian Maniscalco (Wikipedia lists him in an “Untitled Mario Film”) will play Spike.
The Kongs (I guess an earlier Mario villain when you think about it)
- Seth Rogen (recent critic of The Emmy’s) will play Donkey Kong
- Fred Armisen (Portlandia) will play Cranky Kong
The movie, from Illumination, is being distributed by Universal Pictures and is being co-financed by Universal and Nintendo according to the report.
The film is being produced by Chris Meledandri and Shigeru Miyamoto, with Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (who both worked on Teen Titans Go!) directing.
Matthew Fogel, who wrote The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, is writing the script.
The only real question is: Will this movie hold even one single candle to the live-action / animated TV series The Super Mario Bros Super Show!?
Only time will tell.
The movie is set to hit theaters on December 21st, 2022. Hat tip: Variety.
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