Actor Chris Pratt is quite eager to show fans his ‘updated’ voice work for the upcoming movie adaptation of the Super Mario Bros. video game. Back in September 2021, the internet went into a collective shock when Pratt’s casting was announced as the fan favorite Italian plumber, Mario. The news drew criticism for preferring Pratt to Charles Martinet, who has been voicing the character for a long time. Also, fans were upset about the accent of the plumber as Pratt isn’t of Italian descent.
In a recent conversation with Variety, Pratt spoke about his performance and the process, “I worked really closely with the directors and trying out a few things and landed on something that I’m really proud of and can’t wait for people to see and hear.” Further adding,
It’s an animated voiceover narrative. It’s not a live-action movie. I’m not gonna be wearing a plumber suit running all over. I’m providing a voice for an animated character, and it is updated and unlike anything you’ve heard in the Mario world before.”
In an interview with TooFab Illumination CEO and founder, Chris Meledandri assured that he understands fans’ concerns and the movie will certainly give a nod to it, "Well, as an Italian American myself, I understand. You know, I understand the comments. We cover it in the movie. So you'll see we definitely nod to that."
Pratt is no novice to voicing animated characters he played, Barley Lightfoot in Disney's Onward starring alongside Tom Holland. He voiced Emmet in The Lego Movie, as well as the Lego version of Owen Grady, his Jurassic World character. Furthermore, he's also been cast as the voice of Garfield in the cat's next big-screen outing. Praising Pratt’s performance as Mario, Meledandri said "Chris was cast because we felt he could give a great performance as Mario. And now that we’ve done about 15 recording sessions, and the movie is three-quarters done, I sit here and say that I love his performance as Mario."
The untitled Mario movie is directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. It will hit theaters next April. Along with Pratt, the cast includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Kevin Michael Richardson, Fred Armisen, and Sebastian Maniscalco.
Partt is currently riding high on the success of his latest release Jurassic World Dominion, which is dominating the global box office. He’ll be next seen in Thor: Love and Thunder as Star Lord.