Chris Pratt says playing Mario is ‘a dream’ but ‘you’ll have to wait to hear the voice’

Chris Pratt has spoken for the first time about playing the role of Mario in the upcoming Super Mario animated movie.

Nintendo announced the main cast list for the Illumination-produced movie on Thursday and confirmed a North American release date of December 21, 2022.

Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World star Pratt, who also voiced the lead role in the animated Lego Movie, said in an Instagram video that playing Mario was ‘a dream come true”.

Growing up in Lake Stevens, Washington, Pratt said he would visit a coin-operated laundromat that had the original Mario Bros. arcade game.

“I loved that game,” he said, recalling taking quarters from a wishing well to play it.

“You’ll have to wait to hear the voice [of Mario], but we’ve been working hard at it and I’m really excited to announce that I’m going to be the voice of that video game that I dreamed about playing as a kid.” Pratt said. “Dreams come true.”

Pratt was chosen to play Mario ahead of the character’s usual voice actor Charles Martinet, who will however have some cameo roles in the film.

It was also confirmed on Thursday that Anya Taylor-Joy will voice Princess Peach, Charlie Day will play Luigi, Jack Black will star as Bowser, and Seth Rogan will voice Donkey Kong.

The full cast list announced so far is as follows:

• Chris Pratt as Mario
• Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach
• Charlie Day as Luigi
• Jack Black as Bowser
• Keegan-Michael Key as Toad
• Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong
• Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong
• Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek
• Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike
• Surprise cameos from Charles Martinet

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The Mario movie is being co-financed by Nintendo and Illumination. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!) are directing and the script is from The Lego Movie 2 writer Matthew Fogel.

“Mario and Luigi are two of the most beloved heroes in all of popular culture, and we are honoured to have the unique opportunity to work closely with Shigeru Miyamoto and the widely imaginative team at Nintendo to bring these characters to life in an animated movie unlike any film Illumination has made to date,” said Illumination founder Chris Meledandri, who joined Nintendo’s board as an outside director in June.

Miyamoto added: “We are collaborating with Chris and his experienced team to not just create a character licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros. to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy whether or not they know about the game.

“The production so far is constructive and going very well, and both parties are learning a lot from each other. We humbly ask that fans wait just a little longer for the premiere, and we hope they look forward to seeing the unique characters from Super Mario Bros. on the big screen.”