25 Sep - Chris Pratt is set to lend his voice in the upcoming "Super Mario Bros." animated movie, much to everyone's surprise. The "Guardians of the Galaxy" star, who is in no way Italian, will be voicing the character of Mario, the most famous Italian game character and plumber in the upcoming film, according to Nintendo in its announcement on 23 September. Aside from Pratt, other cast members include Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Charlie Day as Mario's brother Luigi, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong and Jack Black as villain Bowser.
Although Pratt is more than elated and admitted to have been working hard to do the character's voice, he and his cast members have become the subject of countless jokes and debates on social media - with many questioning if it is appropriate for the actors to mimic the Italian accent - no matter if the original game itself was created by two Japanese game designers. One netizen wrote, "Chris Pratt playing Mario is Italiaphobia and I'm tired acting like it isn't." Another wrote, "What I don't understand is that they got the original voice working on the movie too so what is the deal? Thinking face why do they put big names in Hollywood in everything just cuz they can?" On the other hand, others were full of support by the casting choice, with one netizen writing, "Well, he's definitely not Italian, for sure. But he's an overall likeable performer and has tons of experience playing everymans and hopeful protagonists. Look forward to seeing him in action." The upcoming animated feature will be released in December 2022.