Illumination’s Chris Meledandri Defends Chris Pratt’s Super Mario Bros. Casting

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Illumination’s Chris Meledandri Defends Chris Pratt’s Super Mario Bros. Casting

When it was announced that Chris Pratt would be the voice of Mario in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. film, fans were notably confused.

According to Illumination’s Chris Meledandri, however, they believe in the actor and his ability.

“When people hear Chris Pratt’s performance, the criticism will evaporate, maybe not entirely — people love to voice opinions, as they should.” Meledandri — the CEO of Illumination — said during the opening of CineEurope (via Deadline). “I’m not sure this is the smartest defense, but as a person who has Italian-American heritage, I feel I can make that decision without worrying about offending Italians or Italian-Americans … I think we’re going to be just fine.”

This is not the first time that those behind the upcoming film have come to Pratt’s defense. Last year, Meledandri first defended the casting decision, saying that Pratt would be “phenomenal” in the role, and that he couldn’t wait for people to hear it. Of course, until we have some actual footage of the film to judge, it’s hard to say whether or not Pratt will do a good job. With the film postponed to April 2023, however, we’re unlikely to see much of the film until later in the year.

Alongside Pratt, the rest of the cast includes Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike (which was previously announced). Mario’s traditional voice actor, Charles Martinet, will also be involved and have “surprise cameos in the movie.”

The creator of Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto, will be producing the film alongside Illumination’s Chris Meledandri.