The Super Mario Bros. animated film will hit theaters on December 21st, 2022, starring an all-star voice cast of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Charlie Day. The news was announced Thursday (September 23rd) during the Nintendo Direct streaming event.
Pratt and Day will play Mario and Luigi, respectively, in the new adaptation of the legendary Nintendo franchise. Taylor-Joy will play Princess Peach.
The all-star voice cast is rounded out by Jack Black (Bowser), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), Fred Armisen (Cranky Kong), Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek), and Sebastian Maniscalco (Spike).
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Chris Meledandri’s Illumination is co-producing the film with Nintendo mastermind and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. The film will be directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!), with a script by Matthew Fogel (The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part).
“Mario and Luigi are two of the most beloved heroes in all of popular culture, and we are honored to have the unique opportunity to work so closely with Shigeru Miyamoto and the widely imaginative team at Nintendo to bring these characters to life in an animated movie, unlike any film Illumination has made to date,” Meledandri said, announcing the cast during Nintendo Direct.
Added Miyamoto: “We are collaborating with Chris and his experienced team to not just create a character licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros. to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy whether or not they know about the game. The production so far is constructive and going very well, and both parties are learning a lot from each other. We humbly ask that fans wait just a little longer for the premiere, and we hope they look forward to seeing the unique characters from Super Mario Bros. on the big screen.”
The animated film will be the second feature-length Super Mario Bros. adaptation. The ill-fated 1993 Super Mario Bros. film starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, and Dennis Hopper re-imagined Mario and Luigi as Brooklyn plumbers who are thrust into dystopian sci-fi underworld.
Based on the cast announcement, we can only assume the animated film will stick closer to the plot of the video game franchise. Watch Miyamoto reveal the voice cast of the new Super Mario Bros. animated film during Nintendo Direct below.
