The Super Mario Bros. animated movie will hit cinemas on December 21, 2022, and when it does it will feature the voices of some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt will play Mario, while It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor Charlie Day will play his brother Luigi.
In the role of Princess Peach is Anya Taylor-Joy, who was recently up for an Emmy thanks to her remarkable performance in The Queen’s Gambit.
Jack Black will lend his voice to bad guy Bowser, comedian Keegan-Michael Key takes on the role of Toad, while Seth Rogen will be Donkey Kong. Rounding out the all-star cast are Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, and stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike.
A press statement about the film explained that “each voice actor was cast for their ability to capture the unique spirit of their character”.
The animated film is being produced by Chris Meledandri under his Illumination banner along with Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo.
The cast was announced during the Nintendo Direct event with Meledandri saying, “Mario and Luigi are two of the most beloved heroes in all of popular culture, and we are honoured to have the unique opportunity to work so closely with Shigeru Miyamoto and the widely imaginative team at Nintendo to bring these characters to life in an animated movie, unlike any film Illumination has made to date.”
Added Miyamoto, “We are collaborating with Chris and his experienced team to not just create a character licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros. to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy whether or not they know about the game.
“The production so far is constructive and going very well, and both parties are learning a lot from each other. We humbly ask that fans wait just a little longer for the premiere, and we hope they look forward to seeing the unique characters from Super Mario Bros. on the big screen.”
The Super Mario Bros. game was first released by Nintendo in 1985 in Japan, before getting an international release the following year. The game is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time and is also one of the best selling, with more than 50 million copies sold worldwide.
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