Chris Pratt says his Mario voice is “modern and different from anything you’ve heard before”

Super Mario Bros. Fans worried about what Chris Pratt’s Italian accent might sound like can (perhaps) rest assured.

The actor set to voice Mario in an upcoming animated film based on the iconic Nintendo video game series has addressed the concerns and promised that his version is “updated.”

“I worked very closely with the directors and tried a few things and ended up with something that I’m really proud of and that people can see and hear,” Pratt said. diversity at the premiere of his new Amazon Prime Video series on Wednesday evening The terminal list. “It’s an animated voiceover narration. It’s not a live-action film. I’m not going to be walking around in a plumber’s suit. I’m voicing an animated character, and it’s modern and different from anything you’ve heard before in the Mario world.”

Rich Fury/WireImage; Nintendo Chris Pratt will lend his voice to Mario in the movie “Super Mario Bros.”

On Monday, the CEO of Illumination and Super Mario Bros. Producer Chris Meledandri also addressed these concerns during a live discussion at the start of the CineEurope conference. “When people hear Chris Pratt’s performance, the criticism will go away, maybe not completely – people like to voice their opinions and they should,” he said, adding, “I’m not sure that’s the smartest defense, but as a person of Italian-American heritage, I think I can make this decision without worrying about offending Italians or Italian-Americans… I think we’ll be fine.”

In addition to Pratt, the film features an all-star cast of voice actors, including Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad., Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong and more.

Super Mario Bros., directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, was scheduled to be released in December before Universal and Nintendo pushed the film’s North American release date back to April 7, 2023.

Related content: