John Leguizamo thinks the casting for The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a step in the wrong direction.
Leguizamo played Mario's brother Luigi 30 years ago in the 1993 live-action adaptation of the Nintendo video games opposite Bob Hoskins as Mario. An upcoming animated version, directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, stars Chris Pratt as the lead, with Charlie Day as Luigi. The voice cast also includes Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Anya Taylor-Joy, Seth Rogen and Fred Armisen.
Speaking with IndieWire, 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 Menu actor 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."
Nintendo and Illumination announced in September 2021 that Pratt, 43, was cast 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 in The LEGO Movie franchise and Disney/Pixar's Onward, and Pratt will also be behind the orange cat Garfield in an upcoming movie.
Sharing the first trailer on Instagram last 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!"
After being asked about some fans questioning why Pratt was cast in the role, Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri told TooFab last November that audiences will be pleasantly surprised by his performance.
"All I can tell you is the voice that he's doing for us and Mario is phenomenal. I can't wait for people to hear it," he said at the time, adding of the accent that usually is portrayed with the character, "Well, as an Italian American myself, I understand. You know, I understand the comments."
"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. Movie is in theaters April 7.
