John Leguizamo is making his thoughts known about the controversial casting of the animated Super Mario Bros. movie.
Speaking to IndieWire, the actor, who played Luigi in the 1993 live-action adaptation of Nintendo's iconic franchise, spoke about his perception of Illumination Studio's upcoming film. "I’m O.G. A lot of people love the original. I did Comic-Con in New York and in Baltimore, and everyone’s like, 'No, no, we love the old one, the original.' They’re not feeling the new one," Leguizamo said. The actor went on to discuss how groundbreaking the first film was, largely because the creative team hired a person of color as one of the stars. "The directors Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton fought really hard for me to be the lead because I was a Latin man, and they [the studio] didn’t want me to be the lead," Leguizamo said. "They fought really hard, and it was such a breakthrough. For them to go backwards and not cast another [actor of color] kind of sucks."
Leguizamo hasn't hesitated to share his feelings about Super Mario Bros. which stars Chris Pratt and Charlie Day as Mario and Luigi, respectively. Shortly after Nintendo unveiled the voice cast behind the movie, the Spawn star took to social media to criticize the film's lack of diversity. "Too bad they went all white! No Latinx in the leads!" he wrote.
The Super Mario Bros. Controversy Explained
While the movie has yet to release an official trailer, the movie has already come under fire as many fans have also expressed their frustration with the movie's voice actors. Criticism has been leveled at Pratt's role as Mario as enthusiasts believe Illumination and Nintendo should have used Charles Martinet, who has voiced the iconic plumber for over two decades. The blowback worsened when the movie's first teaser debuted Pratt's Mario voice which was criticized for not being different enough from his normal speech.
Despite the controversy, several prominent members of the Super Mario Bros. creative team have defended the movie's cast. Khary Payton, who plays King Penguin, stated that audiences were overreacting, insisting Pratt's version of the character was a fun interpretation. Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri similarly defended the casting, stating "I sit here and say that I love [Pratt's] performance as Mario."
The Super Mario Bros. Movie premieres in theaters on April 7, 2023.
Source: IndieWire