Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri, the company that produces the next Animated super mario bros. film with Nintendo,defended the decision to throw Chris Pratt in the role Mario.

In a conversation with TooFab, Meledandri called Pratt’s voice in the film “phenomenal”.

“All I can tell you is the voice he does for us and Mario is phenomenal. Yes, I can’t wait for people to hear it, ”Meledandri said, before commenting that Pratt was not an Italian like the Mushroom Kingdom resident he expresses. “Well, as an Italian-American myself, I understand. You know, I understand the comments… Charlie Day, who plays Luigi, actually comes from an Italian heritage. Yeah, so that’s our nod.

Meledandri also said that Pratt will not use a heavy Italian accent in his portrayal.

In a video he posted to Instagram in September announcing he had been cast for the role, Pratt recalled a story about playing the game in his youth.

“So when I was a kid I lived in Lake Stevens, Washington, and there’s this coin-operated laundromat near my house and it had Super Mario Bros., the original arcade game, Oh, I love this game, ”he said. “I never had a quarter… either I would steal them from the wishing well… It occurred to me now – the quarter that I stole from the wishing well to play. super mario bros. became reality that I become the voice of Mario.

The layered voice cast includes Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson in Kamek, and Sebastian Maniscalco as Foreman Spike.

“We’re working with Chris and his experienced team to create not only a licensed character movie, but new entertainment that brings Super Mario Bros. to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy the game, whether they know the game or not, ”Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, the Japanese video game designer who created the character Mario game, previously said, by Variety. “The production so far has been constructive and going very well, and both sides are learning a lot from each other. We humbly ask fans to wait a little longer for the premiere, and we hope they can’t wait to see the unique characters of Super Mario Bros. on the big screen.

The film is scheduled for release next year on December 21, 2022.

In other news, Pratt will also play the character of Garfield in an upcoming animated film.