One of the producers of the upcoming Super Mario movie starring Chris Pratt as the voice of the Italian plumber has discussed the film and specifically how it will have a nod to the Mario brothers' Italian heritage. Speaking to Too Fab, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri started off by teasing that Pratt's voice for Mario is "phenomenal."

　　He added: "I can't wait for people to hear it."

　　Asked if there are any concerns about having a non-Italian person voicing Mario, Meledandri said, "As an Italian-America myself, I understand the comments."

　　The producer went on to remind people that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Charlie Day, who comes from Italian heritage, is voicing Luigi, and that is part of the film's "nod" to Italian culture. However, don't expect Pratt to lean too far into the "it's-a me, Mario" stylings that video game voice actor Charles Martinet is known to use throughout the series.

　　"We cover it in the movie, so you'll see that we definitely nod to that. But that's not the tenor of the performance throughout the film," Meledandri said.

　　The Mario movie's cast also includes Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. The film--which was announced many years ago--will debut on December 21, 2022 in the US, with release dates for other parts of the world to be announced later.

　　It might be just the first new film from Nintendo, as Shigeru Miyamoto recently teased plans to make more movies based on Nintendo characters. A rumor said a new Donkey Kong movie with Rogen might be coming next, though this is not confirmed.

　　Pratt is also confirmed to voice Garfield in a new movie. He's an accomplished voice actor already, having starred as Emmet in The Lego Movie and Barley in the Pixar movie Onward.

Mario Movie Cast: