Actor Chris Pratt voices Mario in the upcoming The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and his original casting announcement was met with a level of consternation among a portion of the Mario fanbase. Some thought that Charles Martinet, who voices Mario in the games, should have voiced him in the film. Others took issue with how Pratt is not Italian. Speaking to i09, Pratt said he "totally" understands why people were upset. It stems from the love fans have for the Mario series, he said.

　　"There's a passionate fan base and I'm one of the fans. I get it. Mostly, people don't want something like this to get screwed up. They're precious about it. They're careful. And I'm grateful for that," Pratt said.

　　The head of animation studio Illumination, Chris Meledandri, previously defended Pratt, saying the criticism of Pratt's Mario voice would "evaporate" after fans heard it for the first time, but "maybe not entirely."

　　"People love to voice opinions, as they should," he said. Meledandri, who is also a producer on the film, said he doesn't believe that Pratt's lack of Italian heritage is an issue. "I think we're going to be just fine," he said.

　　In the i09 interview, Luigi actor Charlie Day said fans are extremely protective of the Mario series because it holds such a special place in their hearts.

　　"It is a place to escape to. So people would go, after maybe having a tough day at school or in your work life, whatever it is, you put on Super Mario Bros., you play for an hour and you just disappear into that land and that world," Day said. "So in many ways, the game had taken care of people, I think, in a way that they don’t want the franchise messed up at all. So I think they'll be really happy when they see the movie two, three, maybe four times in the theater."

　　In the same interview, Pratt and Day discussed the possibility of additional Mario movies to come. Pratt suggested he did not sign on for a multi-movie deal as he did for Star-Lord in the Guardians of the Galaxy series. "It's not like Marvel is like, 'Oh, you're going to be Star-Lord.' 'Cool.' 'We're signing on to a 4,000 picture deal' and you're like, 'Great, I will do it.' But with animation, typically it's like you do one, you see how it does, and if it does well, then you can always go back to do more," he said.

　　As for Day, he said, "I think they said we're going to make this movie and see how it goes."

　　For what it's worth The Super Mario Bros. Movie ends with a post-credits scene that sets up a sequel, but whether or not it gets made is another question.

　　The Super Mario Bros. Movie is expected to be a box office juggernaut and could rise up the charts to become one of the highest-grossing video game movies ever, a list currently topped by Warcraft ($439 million). The film opens on April 5 and also features Anya Taylor-Joy as the voice of Peach and Jack Black as Bowser.

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