‘Super Mario Bros.’ Producer Defends Chris Pratt Casting & Says Actor Will Not Say “It’s-A-Me, Mario!” In The Film

When the voice cast was announced for the upcoming “Super Mario Bros.” animated movie, fans were seemingly divided by the casting of Chris Pratt as the title character. Many fans were upset because Chris Pratt doesn’t seem like the right fit for an Italian plumber type. Alas, according to one of the producers of the film, Chris Meledandri, you shouldn’t worry about that because his performance will be great.

READ MORE: ‘Super Mario Bros.’: Chris Pratt Isn’t Ready To Debut His Mario Voice Just Yet But Says Everyone’s “Working Hard” On The Film

Speaking to TooFab, Meledandri was asked about the controversy surrounding Chris Pratt being cast as Mario in the upcoming “Super Mario Bros.” animated film. Particularly, the producer doesn’t think fans should be up in arms because “Super Mario Bros.” isn’t going to lean into the Italian aspect of the character. That means Pratt will not be uttering the classic line, “It’s-a-me, Mario!”

“We cover it in the movie,” Meledandri said about the omission of the iconic Mario line. “So you’ll see we definitely nod to that, but that’s not the tenor of the performance throughout the film.”

He added, “All I can tell you is the voice that he’s doing for us, and Mario, is phenomenal. Yeah, I can’t wait for people to hear it.”

READ MORE: Chris Pratt Will Hate Mondays As The Voice Of Garfield In A New Animated Film

Obviously, the only way we’ll know for sure about whether or not Chris Pratt was the right choice for the main role in “Super Mario Bros.” is when we can watch the finished film. However, until then, that’s not going to stop the folks on social media from continuing to be skeptical. 

“Super Mario Bros.” is expected to hit theaters on December 21, 2022.