Now that we’ve established Chris Pratt’s portrayal of Mario in the animated Super Mario Bros. movie sounds more like Pratt himself rather than an exaggerated Italian stereotype, we can focus on the second trailer, which features the heroic plumber getting his ass kicked by Seth Rogen’s Donkey Kong.
Besides that, we get a first look at Anya Taylor-Joy’s ever-wise Mushroom Kingdom ruler Princess Peach, who rallies a troop of familiar faces against Mario’s archnemesis Bowser (played by a scene-stealing Jack Black).
“I’m not sure you know who I am, but I’m about to rule the world,” Bowser tells Mario’s twin brother and sidekick Luigi, voiced by Charlie Day. It sure sounds like Black channeled the mindset he teased for the character in an interview with Consequence: “Hey Pratt-Pratt, I’m coming for you. Yeah, Bowser’s gonna eat you whole. I’mma barbecue you and eat you.”
Watch the new trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie below.
Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic off a screenplay written by Matthew Fogel, the animated follow-up to the 1993 live version also stars Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike.
Earlier this month, John Leguizamo — who played Luigi in the live-action movie — expressed his disappointment with the decision to not cast another actor of color in his role. Citing how the directors Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton “fought really hard for me to be the lead because I was a Latin man,” Leguizamo called out the “backwards” casting for the upcoming animated version.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie will land in theaters on April 7th, 2023. Learn why Pratt got cast as Mario in the first place here, and revisit the teaser trailer.
