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John Leguizamo has criticized the casting of the new The Super Mario Bros. Movie for its lack of diversity. The actor played Luigi in the original, live-action Super Mario Bros. film, opposite the late Bob Hoskins as Mario.
"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 reflected to IndieWire. "I'm not bitter. It's unfortunate."
The new film, set for release next year, sees Chris Pratt voice Mario, while Charlie Day is Luigi. Filling out the rest of the cast is Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad.
"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 of the original Super Mario Bros. "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."
"I worked really closely with the directors and trying out a few things and landed on something that I’m really proud of and can’t wait for people to see and hear," Pratt has said of his Mario voice. "It's an animated voiceover narrative. It's not a live-action movie. I'm not gonna be wearing a plumber suit running all over. I'm providing a voice for an animated character, and it is updated and unlike anything you've heard in the Mario world before."
The first trailer for the movie recently arrived, which means you can hear Pratt's Mario voice for yourself – though only a few words at the moment.
The Super Mario Bros. movie hits theaters next April 7, 2023. Until then, check out our roundup of all the upcoming major movie release dates for everything else that's coming soon.
