Nintendo has announced that Chris Pratt will voice Mario in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. animated movie from Illumination Entertainment.
Along with Pratt, the film's voice cast also includes Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. Additionally, Kevin Michael Richardson will voice Kamek, Fred Armisen will voice Cranky Kong, and Sebastian Maniscalco will voice Foreman Spike.
Longtime Mario voice actor Charles Martinet will also have a series of featured cameos in the movie.
The casting announcement came during today's Nintendo Direct, with the company pulling back the curtain for the first time on Universal’s upcoming adaptation of the long-running video game series.
Super Mario Bros. is scheduled to hit theaters on December 21, 2022. The project was originally announced in 2018, with both Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri and Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto attached as producers.
Super Mario was previously adapted as a 1993 live-action feature starring Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi. While the film was both a critical and commercial failure at the time, it has since garnered a cult following as a unique adaptation and '90s artifact. A fanmade extended cut titled "The Morton Jankel Cut" was was shared online in June.
In May, it was reported that Nintendo is also exploring animation projects beyond Super Mario, looking to adapt other properties in its catalog.
For a recap of everything announced at today’s Nintendo Direct, check out our complete rundown here. For more about the Super Mario Bros. movie, read about how the upcoming film will incorporate Maniscalco's Foreman Spike, a character from the NES and arcade game Wrecking Crew.
Correction: This story originally said that the upcoming Super Mario Bros. film is called 'Mario," yet no official title has been released as of this writing. The line about the film's incorrect name has been removed.
J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.
(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
