Nintendo has released the first trailer for The Super Mario Bros Movie.
The film, which is due to be released in North America on April 7, 2023, received its world premiere trailer during a Nintendo Direct presentation dedicated to the film.
The trailer also gives Mario fans the first chance to hear Chris Pratt as the voice of Mario.
You can view the trailer below:
During the presentation, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri explained that the the movie has been in the works for seven years, and is nearing completion.
“Next week we complete animation, [and] we’re knee-deep into lighting and compositing,” he explained.
“Composer Brian Tyler heads to the scoring stage in just 11 days. He’s been working hand-in-hand with [Super Mario Bros game composer] Koji Kondo to integrate classic themes from the game into the film score.”
Before today’s trailer, nothing had been shown publicly about the movie, beyond the original casting announcement which famously introduced Pratt as Mario.
In addition to Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy (Queen’s Gambit) has been cast as Princess Peach, Charlie Day (Horrible Bosses) as Luigi and Jack Black as Bowser. Seth Rogen will also play Donkey Kong in the movie.
While some had criticised the film for casting Pratt as the plumber, the co-producer of the film has publicly defended him.
After being approached by a toofab reporter last year at LAX airport, Illumination co-founder and CEO Chris Meledandri was asked how Chris Pratt was going to pull off Mario’s voice.
“All I can tell you is the voice that he’s doing for us and Mario is phenomenal,” Meledandri replied. “I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
Meledandri was then asked why an Italian wasn’t cast for the role (despite the fact that Mario’s usual voice actor
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