We got our first proper look at the new ‘Super Mario Bros.’ movie a month ago via the teaser trailer, which arrived with some very mixed reactions.
‘Teen Titans GO! To the Movies’ veterans Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic are in the director’s chair here, with Matthew Fogel as writer (he has form with Chris Pratt, having contributed to the ‘Lego Movie Part 2’ screenplay).
Though the real story for ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ is still under wraps, we can guess from this trailer that it’ll follow familiar narratives from the characters’ world. In particular, we have Bowser, King of the Koopas (Jack Black) on his usual schtick, conquering other kingdoms so he can attain powerful items.
'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
Chris Pratt––somewhat controversially––voices Mario here, and we get the first example of some of the character’s catchphrases and exclamations, which still sound a little weird in Pratt’s vocal tones. But it certainly appears that he’ll be up to the normal Mario behavior––racing in carts and taking warp pipes to new areas, where he faces different obstacles (and gets some of them right in the face to boot).
In this new trailer, we find Bowser threatening Charlie Day’s Luigi, who goes on a riff about how he doesn’t know his brother, who, after all, only has a similar mustache and wears near identical clothing, with just the color and lettering to differentiate them.
Also in the cast? Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Bowser’s aide Kamek, Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike and Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong.
There are clear inspirations all over this new look at the movie, including a clash between Mario and Kong that could be taken straight from ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ and moments that feel like the filmmakers channeling ‘The Lego Movie’ (though maybe that’s because of Pratt and Fogel’s involvement).
'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
Whether people can get around the Pratt-ness of it all is the big question, though the movie certainly seems to be following the usual Illumination playbook of nudge-nudge tone allied with cute sidekick characters (albeit the mushroom kingdom dwellers have long been part of the Mario mythology).
One person not likely to be lining up to see this one is John Leguizamo, who famously – or perhaps that should be infamously – co-starred with Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper in the much-maligned 1993 live-action original adaptation. “I’m O.G. A lot of people love the original. I did Comic-Con in New York and in Baltimore, and everyone’s like, ‘No, no, we love the old one, the original.’ They’re not feeling the new one,” Leguizamo told IndieWire. “I’m not bitter. It’s unfortunate. For them to go backwards and not cast another actor of color kind of sucks.”
How will the movie be more generally received beyond these initial looks? We’ll find out next year.
‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ will be in theaters on April 7th, 2023.
'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
