The Last of Us and Mario Kart are mashed up in this SNL skit with Pedro Pascal

Pedro Pascal’s guest appearance on the latest Saturday Night LiveThis gave the opportunity for the show to mock the dark, depressing tone. Last of Us — as well as the chequered history of video game adaptations — by imagining a world in which HBO brought the same “prestige dystopian drama” approach to an adaptation of Mario Kart.

“It’s-a me,” growls Pascal, “Mario,” aping his gruff demeanor as Joel in Last of Us, in what may or may not be a dig at action hero Chris Pratt’s casting as the famous plumber in the forthcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie. The skit takes the form of a trailer for the imagined series, with Peach taking the role of Mario’s Ellie-style cargo, and Yoshi, Toad, Luigi (and his mansion), and Bowser all appearing in suitably tattooed and foulmouthed HBO form. Mario unloads a shotgun filled with red shells, while a Goomba plays the role of a Clicker.

Combining the properties of both games creates a clever, but obvious joke. This juxtaposes the brightly surreal Nintendo game with cinematic-style mournfulness and brutality of The Mashup. Last of Us — which, of course, are exactly what made it such perfect subject matter for an HBO series. Crucially, the skit makes fun of both equally, rather than condescending to Mario Kart’s game-like qualities. The choice of Mario Kart, rather than a mainline Super Mario game, is also inspired — if only because, if SNLIf you had chosen to go with the former, it might not have been as close to reality. Super Mario Bros. Movie from 1993. A cultural treasure so strange it is impossible to parody.

And if you genuinely do want to see Mario Kart’s world turned into filmed entertainment, don’t worry — trailers indicate the karts and the famous Rainbow Road will turn up in Super Mario Bros. MovieWhen it is released in April. There is nothing too absurd about franchising intellectual property.

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