A The Super Mario Bros. Movie recast has been called for, as fans demand Pedro Pascal replace Chris Pratt in the lead role. Last night, Saturday Night Live aired a sketch inspired by host Pedro Pascal’s starring role in the hit HBO series The Last Of Us. The sketch imagines what a Mario movie might look like if it was also a dystopian prestige series, following Pascal as Mario escorting Princess Peach through the barren wastelands of the Mushroom Kingdom in a Mario Kart.
After this sketch aired, fans took to social media to demand that Pedro Pascal play the character in the upcoming Illumination animated film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which comes to theaters on April 7. Pratt currently holds the role of Mario opposite a cast that includes Charlie Day as Luigi and Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach. Check out the sketch and select fan reactions below:
Chris Pratt as Mario Backlash Explained
In addition to the natural downturn that comes when an actor has been admired in the public eye for too long, there are several reasons Pratt being cast as Mario caused backlash. The first is the fact that his public actions have earned him derision from various factions. This includes his divorce from the beloved comic actress Anna Faris and his public turn toward a more seemingly conservative lifestyle.
There are several more specific reasons for the backlash to his casting as Mario. The fact that Pratt is not Italian is one factor, but another complaint is the fact that he has been accused of not trying to mimic Mario’s in-game voice at all, instead opting to use his own voice. Another complaint that has surfaced is the fact that his casting prevents longtime Mario voice actor Charles Martinet from taking the role, though he will provide a different voice for an unknown character in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Perhaps the biggest reason for this response to Pratt’s Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie is that the media landscape is oversaturated with Pratt at the moment. Audiences may simply be burnt out on the actor. In addition to starring in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World franchises, both of which had entries come to screens last year, Pratt has also appeared in Onward, The Tomorrow War, The Terminal List, and Thor: Love and Thunder just in the last few years, with a role voicing Garfield coming up soon.
Source: Various (see above)
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The Super Mario Bros Film