Nintendo announced the cast of their upcoming Super Mario Bros. film and it's safe to say it's a super smash.
On Thursday, Sept. 23, the video game company and Universal Pictures' Illumination studios confirmed that Mario, Luigi and the rest of the gang will appear in theaters on Dec. 22, 2022.
Seth Rogen, Anya Taylor-Joy and more A-list celebrities are lending their voices to the film, with the studio saying that each star was "cast for their ability to capture the unique spirit of their character." Notably, Chris Pratt will lead the movie in the role of Italian plumber Mario.
However, some Twitter users weren't as enthused by the casting choices, with some questioning if the "Jurassic World" actor could pull off Mario's accent. One person tweeted, "So are we hoping that Chris Pratt tries to do the voice? Or that he just shows up and is like 'Yo. What's up? It's me, Mario'?"
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Pratt also spoke out about his new role, saying on Instagram that he's "working hard" at getting Mario's voice right, because this is a "dream come true."
While the casting decisions drew some criticism — including having an American movie star of Norwegian descent in Pratt being cast as the world's most famous fictional Italian plumber — fans are eager to see what Nintendo and Illumination do with the beloved video game characters.
One Twitter user said, "Forget chris pratt I actually rlly like jack black as bowser sounds like a neat idea," while others remarked that "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"'s Charlie Day was born to play Luigi.
Other portrayals in the voice cast include Taylor-Joy from "The Queen's Gambit" as Mario's perpetually imperiled paramour Princess Peach, Keegan-Michael Key as tiny sidekick Toad and Rogen as banana-loving simian Donkey Kong.
(E! News and Universal Pictures are both members of the NBCUniversal family.)
Correction: Our original subhead included a quote from comedian and podcaster, Kevin T. Porter as a casting director, which is not confirmed true.
