Super Mario movie studio boss says the film is "three-quarters done"

Mario wearing a white top hat in Super Mario Odyssey — (Image credit: Nintendo)

The Super Mario Movie is "three quarters done" says studio boss Chris Meledandri, and Chris Pratt has apparently given "such a strong performance" as Mario.

In an interview with Variety, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri gave us a small insight into the upcoming Super Mario Movie which is set to star Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Seth Rogan, and more.

Talking specifically about Pratt’s casting, Meledandri said: "Chris was cast because we felt he could give a great performance as Mario. And now that we’ve done about 15 recording sessions, and the movie is three-quarters done, I sit here and say that I love his performance as Mario."

In the same interview, Meledandri defended Pratt’s casting, explaining that, due to Meledandri’s own Italian-American heritage, he felt he could make this casting decision "without worrying about offending Italians or Italian Americans." Regardless of this though, "I think we’re gonna be just fine," Meledandri adds, "especially because [Pratt]’s given such a strong performance."

In case you thought Illumination’s Super Mario Movie was some weird fever dream you had, here’s what we know about the film so far.

Originally set to be released in December 2022, the Super Mario Movie was recently delayed to April 2023, so we’ll have to wait a little longer to see Pratt’s performance in the film. If you’re at all worried about Nintendo’s famous IP being in the hands of the Minion’s studio, you’ll be pleased to know that Shigeru Miyamoto (aka Mario’s creator) is also working on the project as a producer.

Want to know what other video game adaptations we can look forward to watching soon? Take a look at our upcoming video game movies list.

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After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.