Nintendo and Illumination have jointly announced the premiere date for the first Super Mario Bros. teaser trailer.
Fans will get to see the first look at the upcoming animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros. during the film's panel at the 2022 New York Comic Con on October 6 at 4 p.m. ET. The upcoming film features an all-star voice cast that consists of Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike. A new poster for Super Mario Bros. was also released, further hyping up the first look at the animated film.
Nintendo first announced that it would collaborate with Illumination and Universal on a new feature-length adaptation of the Super Mario video games in January 2018 with production officially getting underway in 2020. The voice cast was announced in September 2021. Pratt's casting was initially met with backlash from fans, particularly because the actor is not Italian. However, Pratt has promised fans that his Mario voice will be "unlike anything you've heard in the Mario world before."
Chris Pratt Will Also Voice Garfield the Cat
Super Mario Bros. is not the only animated film that has received criticism for casting Pratt as the lead character. Sony also came under fire for casting the former Parks and Recreation star in its upcoming film Garfield, which is based on Jim Davis' ongoing comic strip of the same name. Pratt will voice the eponymous orange feline in the film, which also features the vocal talents of Star Wars' Samuel L. Jackson, Ted Lasso's Hannah Waddingham, X-Men's Nicholas Hoult, Saturday Night Live's Cecily Strong and Mission: Impossible's Ving Rhames.
Super Mario Bros. marks the third time the Mario video game franchise has been adapted to film after the 1986 anime film Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! and the 1993 live-action film Super Mario Bros., the latter of which starred Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as Mario and Luigi, respectively.
In addition to the upcoming animated film, Illumination and Nintendo are developing a Donkey Kong spinoff film, with Rogen set to reprise the role. Nintendo has also stated that it would be interested in producing more animated Mario films if the first one is deemed successful by all involved parties. Luigi's voice actor Charlie Day has also expressed interest in starring in an animated film based on the Luigi's Mansion video games.
Super Mario Bros. is scheduled to open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
Source: Nintendo