Mario Movie Producer Says Chris Pratt’s Plumber Won’t Have Italian Accent, Calls Actor’s Voice ‘Phenomenal’

Just two months ago Nintendo and Illumination made it clear that Chris Pratt would play Mario in the new Mario movie. The conversation surrounding this decision has been focused for eight weeks on Pratt’s accent. Is he going to do the Mario accent?

A new interview was conducted with Too Fabulous, Mario movie co-producer Chris Meledandri has defended Pratt’s casting, calling his voice for Mario phenomenal. 

“All I can tell you is the voice that he’s doing for us, and Mario, is phenomenal,” Meledandri told TooFab. “Yeah, I can’t wait for people to hear it.”

Too Fabulous asked the producer about the decision to cast Pratt, someone who isn’t Italian, as the Italian plumber. Meledandri said he’s an Italian American and understands some of the feelings people have over the casting choice. He said Charlie Day, who is Italian, being cast as Luigi, is this movie’s nod to the Italian background of the famous plumber duo. 

Meledandri says that the Mario film will touch upon the Italian accent or lack thereof. 

“We cover it in the movie,” he said. “So, you’ll see we definitely nod to that.” 

Meledandri also said that you should not expect Pratt’s performance to lean too much into the “It’s a-me, Mario!” side of the character, popularized by Charles Martinet, who’s been the voice of Mario for decades. 

While waiting to hear Pratt’s Mario, check out the full cast list for Illumination’s Mario movie.

[Source: TooFab]

What do you hope Pratt’s Mario sounds like? Comment below to let us know!