Topics: Chris Pratt, Super Mario, Film and TV
Chris Pratt says people will finally see why he was cast as Mario when they see The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
When it was revealed the Parks and Recreation star would be playing the legendary Italian plumber, many people were upset.
Some suggested the role should have gone to an Italian voice actor or Charles Martinet, who has already portrayed the character in the the Super Mario video game series since 1991.
John Leguizamo was one of the biggest critics of the casting decisions for the upcoming film.
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Leguizamo played Luigi in the infamous live action Super Mario Bros film, alongside Bob Hoskins, so he has a fair bit of skin in the game.
But when he saw Pratt was playing Mario and Charlie Day would portray Luigi, he wasn't happy.
"So glad #SuperMarioBros is getting a reboot! Obviously, it's iconic enuff. But too bad they went all white! No Latinx in the leads! Groundbreaking color-blind casting in original!" he tweeted.
"Plus I'm the only one who knows how to make this movie work script-wise!" he added, before posting three screenshots of himself and Hoskins from the 1993 film.
But, Pratt has insisted once again that everything will make sense when people sit down in the cinema.
Speaking to ExtraTV, he said: "Go watch the movie and then we can talk.
"I really think that once you see the movie, and in all honesty, I think you probably need to watch it twice.
"In all honesty, the answer though is that this is a passionate fan base, and I understand, I'm a part of it. This is the soundtrack to your youth, and you don't want someone to come along and cynically destroy it as a cash grab with the movie.
"I fully understand that you do not want that to happen and there were so many hearts and souls and minds dedicated to making sure that didn't happen.
"The movie really honors the video game.
"It honors the world of Mario and is very promising as to what we could expect over the next 10 years like an entire universe of these types of movies.
"They're super nostalgic. They're really fun. It's Illumination, so they know what they're doing."
He added to IGN that we should expect to see more of these films in the future.
"You have these Easter eggs, and you have all of this feeling that you almost don't even realize, going into the movie, how much you care about these characters until you hear the voice. And you see the outfits, and you hear the music, and you hear the score. And it's like, 'Oh my gosh.' "
Looks like we'll just have to take his word for it and see what happens when the movie premieres around the world on April 6.
