Super Mario is a worldwide phenomenon. Appearing in the Nintendo arcade game sharing his name, he became a popular video game character as he went onto televisions everywhere as people played Super Mario Bros on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985. Many people have grown up with this Italian plumber who has to rescue his princess Peach every so often, and the titles of Super Mario games have been released on almost all the Nintendo consoles that have been released since the NES. The game series and its star have never been more recognizable, and on September 23, 2021, it was announced that a Super Mario Movie will be released. Nintendo said that it will be an animated adaptation by Illumination, a company known for movies such as Despicable Me or Sing. They have also revealed a part of the voice cast for the CGI Mario and other characters in the video games. Mario will be voiced by Chris Pratt (the actor who acted Star Lord, or Peter Quill from the Marvel Movie adaptations of The Guardians of the Galaxy) and Luigi, Mario’s brother, will be played by Charlie Day (known for his role in the sitcom It’s Always a Sunny Day in Philadelphia). The star actress of the Queen’s Gambit, Anya-Taylor Joy, will voice Princess Peach, and the villain of each Mario story, Bowser, will be voiced by Jack Black, known for movies such as Kung Fu Panda and Nacho Libre. The cast also includes the voices of Seth Rogan, Michael Keegan (Key and Peele), and Sebastian Maniscalco. The cast for the movie is full of notable names from comedy and movies. Even though there are very familiar names on board, there is still the question of why Mario, a character with a heavy Italian accent, is not voiced by someone who is Italian. Mario is also not voiced by one of his original voice actors for the video games – Charles Martinet, who has voiced for almost two decades. Even though I would want casting studios to employ an actor that best represents a character’s voice, I am still very excited to see how those hired will portray the famed plumber and his companions.
