John Leguizamo;The Super Mario Bros. Movie(2023).Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty; Nintendo and Universal Studios
John Leguizamothinks the casting forThe Super Mario Bros. Movieis a step in the wrong direction.
Speaking withIndieWire, Leguizamo, 62, called the casting “unfortunate” after his “breakthrough” representation in the 1993 version.
“The directors Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton fought really hard for me to be the lead because I was a Latin man, and [the studio] didn’t want me to be the lead. They fought really hard, and it was such a breakthrough,“The Menuactor said. “For them to go backwards and not cast another [actor of color] kind of sucks.”
He added, “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. I’m not bitter. It’s unfortunate.”
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Nintendo and Illumination announced in September 2021 that Pratt, 43, wascast in the animated movie to play Mario, the traditionally Italian plumber from the popular video game franchise that originated in Japan. He has voiced the lead inThe LEGO Moviefranchise and Disney/Pixar’sOnward, and Pratt will also bebehind the orange cat Garfieldin an upcoming movie.
Sharingthe first trailer on Instagramlast month, Pratt wrote, “After playing the games for years as a kid (and adult) I’m excited to bring Mario to all of you! Enjoy!”
“We cover it in the movie, so you’ll see we definitely nod to that,” Meledandri explained of the accent, though he said, “That’s not the tenor of the performance throughout the film.”
The Super Mario Bros. Movieis in theaters April 7.
source: people.com
