With the announcement of the cast for the new Super Mario Bros. movie, the internet is full of debates about whether the crew is the right one for the movie or not. The cast includes Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy, Seth Rogen, Keegan-Michael, and others.
"Here we go!"
Chris Pratt as Mario
Anya Taylor-Joy as 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
Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike
Cameos from Charles Martinet pic.twitter.com/Yio2pql1Jy— Illumination (@illumination) September 23, 2021
Fans are not happy about two things. First is the absence of Italian actors, with Pratt and Charlie Day as Mario and Luigi, respectively.
chris pratt playing mario is italiaphobia and i'm tired of acting like it isn't
— hasanabi (@hasanthehun) September 23, 2021
Second is the apparent needless celebrity casting in animation casting, when voice actors already exist, criticizing the “all-star voice cast”.
You actually DON'T have to pack animated films with celebrities. Gen X with kids grew up on cartoons and don't need to be sold and kids could care less about celebrity voices : Enter the #Spiderverse had working actors (not stars) for voices and made zillions https://t.co/PUkzwdG903
— Dr. Jason Johnson (@DrJasonJohnson) September 24, 2021
Fans went on to suggest alternative actors, suggesting Al Pacino as Mario and DeNiro as Luigi. Many are also asking why Pratt will play the lead when Joe Pesci and DeNiro are all available.
Among the people disappointed with the cast is John Leguizamo, the actor who originally played Luigi in the 1993 “Super Mario Bros” movie. While he said that he was happy for Super Mario Bros to get a reboot, he was not so happy about the “all-white” cast and the missed opportunity for a more representative cast of actors.
Both Mario and Luigi were played by non-white actors in the original movie, portrayed by the late Bob Hoskins and Leguizamo. The actor took to Twitter to express his discontent, and attached pictures from the original movie, asking for critics to apologize to the original movie.
https://twitter.com/JohnLeguizamo/status/1442576322316931074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1442576322316931074%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fentertainment.ie%2Fmovies%2Fmovie-news%2Fluigi-super-mario-bros-cast-john-leguizamo-495120%2F
It is clear that many fans are unhappy with the cast. Only time will tell if the production team will eventually consider the fans’ suggestions and cast Italian actors.
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