According to John Leguizamo, the casting for The Super Mario Bros. The film represents a step backwards.
In the 1993 live-action version of the Nintendo video games, Leguizamo played Mario’s sibling Luigi opposite Bob Hoskins as Mario.
Chris Pratt appears as Mario in a planned animated adaptation directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, alongside Charlie Day as Luigi.
Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Anya Taylor-Joy, Seth Rogen, and Fred Armisen round out the voice ensemble.
Speaking with IndieWire, Leguizamo, 62, called the casting “unfortunate” after his “breakthrough” representation in the 1993 version.
“The directors Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton fought really hard for me to be the lead because I was a Latin man, and [the studio] didn’t want me to be the lead. They fought really hard, and it was such a breakthrough,” The Menu actor said. “For them to go backwards and not cast another [actor of color] kind of sucks.”
"I did Comic-Con … everyone’s like, ‘No, no, we love the old one, the original.’ They’re not feeling the new one"https://t.co/on2YYfNkv8
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) November 16, 2022
