Critics had a mixed reception to “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” as it hit theaters, but audiences felt differently. Universal and Illumination‘s take on the Nintendo franchise now holds the biggest global box office opening of any animated movie with $377.5 million. That’s a $277.5 million gross off of only five days in theaters. In other words: it’s time to start thinking about a sequel.
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And Jack Black, who voices Bowser in the new film, already has some ideas for a follow-up. Deadline (via GameStop) reports that Black has a perfect candidate for the franchise’s next potential big bad, Mario’s greedy, yellow-clad nemesis Wario. So who does Black have in mind? None other than “The Mandalorian” and “The Last Of Us” star Pedro Pascal. “It’s not a given that Bowser will return,” Black suggested to Game Spot. “You know, I did a few “Kung Fu Panda” movies, and it was a different villain every movie. They may do the same thing.
And Wario makes sense as a new character for Mario to face off against; that’s how the villain was introduced in the video games, too. “You know, what if there is a more powerful, more evil villain? Then I may need to be turned to help Mario and the rest to defend our universe against some other unseen force of evil,” Black continued. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Wario. Pedro Pascal is Wario.”
If Pascal is game to voice Wario, he’d join a star-studded voice cast that includes Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, and more. And if Universal, Illumination, and Nintendo really want to get bold, they could find someone to voice Wario’s brother Waluigi, too.
So where did Black come up with the idea of Pascal as Mario? Maybe Black was inspired by a recent “Saturday Night Live” skit that spoofed “The Last Of Us” as a “Super Mario Kart” spinoff. The skit starred Pascal as a more serious and somber Mario, who pledges to escort Princess Peach down a dystopian Rainbow Road. So, not quite a villain, but a darker take on Mario, to be sure.
Is Black’s idea of Pascal playing Wario a good idea? In the video games, Wario evolved for a fatter, sinister foil to Mario to an immortal, treasure-hunting anti-hero who’s also a bit of a doofus. So is Pascal up to the challenge? Well, Universal hasn’t even announced a sequel yet. But given how well “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has done in theaters so far, expect that announcement to happen any day now. Check out the “SNL” Mario Kart/”The Last Of Us” sketch below.