Last week, Nintendo broadcasted one of their regular September Directs, focused mostly on games that are coming out on the Nintendo Switch this winter. I say mostly because a good portion of the Direct focused on games coming out in 2022 (Splatoon 3; Bayonetta 3; Kirby and the Forgotten Land). To be honest, it was a pretty great Direct with a lot of announcements–there was basically something for all types of gamers announced. (For a great summary of all the announcement made during last week’s Direct, click here.) But the one announcement that ‘broke the internet’ and has had everyone talking since the Direct ended was the announcement of the voice cast for the upcoming Super Mario movie that is being developed by Nintendo and Illumination.
Take a look at the cast list yourself; it is undoubtedly bonkers:
- Mario – Chris Pratt
- Princess Peach – Anya Taylor-Joy
- Charlie Day – Luigi
- Jack Black – Bowser
- Keegan-Michael Key – Toad
- Seth Rogen – Donkey Kong
- Kevin Michael Richardson – Kamek
- Fred Armisen – Cranky Kong
- Sebastian Maniscalco – Foreman Spike
Which brings me to the question of the day: if you could have your dream cast for a Super Mario movie, who would you cast to voice these iconic characters?
To be fair, there are a lot of people who love some of the casting choices, particularly Jack Black as Bowser and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. Most of the criticism is aimed at Chris Pratt voicing the mustachioed, Italian plumber. Personally, I think he is a great choice. Chris Pratt is a talented, comedic actor who clearly has a love for the source material, and I have been proven wrong too many times before when I’ve been upset about a casting choice (looking at you, Heath Ledger, Ben Affleck, and Michael Keaton).
A lot of the criticism comes from the fact that long-time Mario voice actor, Charles Martinet, who will be in the movie in cameo roles, wasn’t given the chance to voice the character. Further more, a lot of people are upset that an Italian was not cast in the role. And then there are those who tried to cancel Chris Pratt because of his religious associations (something that definitely warrants unpacking at a later date and time).
To me, a movie is a completely different ball game than a video game. Maybe Charles is perfect at doing Mario’s ‘wah’ and ‘wah-hoo’ but may struggle doing the voice for a feature film. Maybe he didn’t want to do it. Or just maybe, this is a Hollywood production, and they know the exposure that a mega-celebrity like Chris Pratt would bring to the movie was just too good to pass up.
I think this is inspired casting, and the only thing I’d change is adding Jim Carrey as Waluigi and Danny DeVito as Wario. Could you imagine!? However, this isn’t about what I think–what do YOU think? Who would you cast to voice the Mushroom Kingdom gang? Let us know in the comments below or on our Boss Rush Discord!
Leave a Reply