Michael Jelenic: Last News

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Chris Pratt’s voice role as Mario in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has been a point of debate ever since he was cast. Pratt is not Italian, after all, and many fans were left baffled when the movie’s first trailer dropped last October and revealed Pratt’s Brooklyn-heavy Mario voice. It’s not a concern for the film’s directors, Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath. The filmmakers told Total Film magazine that casting Pratt made sense given the Mario at the center of their story. “It’s a bit of an origin tale. It’s the story of Mario becoming Super Mario,” Horvath said about the film, adding that finding the perfect Mario voice meant finding an actor who could believably portray a plumber from Brooklyn who is “a blue-collar guy from a family of Italian immigrants.”

The highly anticipated Illumination Entertainment/Universal movie The Super Mario Bros. Movie will be opening on Wednesday, April 5 around the world before Easter weekend instead of Good Friday, April 7.

Jordan Moreau Mario is powering up his release date. Universal and Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” will now hit theaters around the world two days earlier than expected, the company announced Tuesday. The movie’s new release date is Wednesday, April 5, instead of its original Friday, April 7. In addition to going wide domestically, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” will release in more than 60 markets around the world, including China, Australia, France Germany, Italy, Brazil Mexico and the U.K. and Ireland. There are around 10 markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe opening on a variety of dates in April and May, Universal also announced. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” will release in Japan on April 28, timed to the Golden Week Holidays.

Universal/Illumination/Nintendo’s The Super Mario Bros Movie has become the latest Hollywood title to secure a release date in China. The big-screen spin on the iconic videogame franchise will hit Chinese cinemas on April 5, in time for Ching Ming Festival and in step with some other international markets as well as two days before the domestic release on April 7. 

Anya Taylor-Joy is lending her voice to give life to Princess Peach in the upcoming The Super Mario Bros. Movie. To prepare for the role, the Queen’s Gambit star turned into a gamer.

Ethan Shanfeld Not much is known about Nintendo’s upcoming “Super Mario Bros.” movie, but Keegan-Michael Key revealed to Variety that his character Toad has a musical moment in the film. When asked if Toad shows off his singing chops in the animated movie, Key said, “He does. I got to improvise a song in ‘Super Mario Bros.,’ which was an absolute blast. That was just a stick of fun, that whole thing.” Regarding Toad’s voice, Key said, “I was working on the voice with my partner and trying to find the voice through the internal journey of the character. And then with the directors [Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic], we sprinkled some things in, we moved it around.”

Nintendo has released the first trailer for the upcoming Super Mario movie – check it out below.The company debuted the trailer in a special Nintendo Direct presentation on Thursday (October 6), after a poster showing the animation style was shared on social media earlier this week.The project is a collaboration between Nintendo and Illumination, the animation studio behind the Despicable Me franchise, Sing and The Secret Life Of Pets.Chris Pratt provides the voice of Mario, alongside 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.Charles Martinet, the original voice of Mario in the games, is also set to appear in various undisclosed cameo roles.The film is directed by duo Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who are best known for co-developing the DC series Teen Titans Go! and film spin-off Teen Titans Go! To The Movies. It’s written by Matthew Fogel, whose previous work includes Minions: The Rise Of Gru and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.Speaking to Variety earlier this year, Pratt teased that his Mario voice is “unlike anything you’ve heard” in the games.“I worked really closely with the directors and trying out a few things and landed on something that I’m really proud of and can’t wait for people to see and hear,” Pratt said.

Universal and Illumination’s Nintendo movie Super Mario Bros about the famed videogame plumbers, kart drivers and squashers of turtles is zipping from its planned December 21 release date to April 7, which is Easter weekend 2023.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorAccording to Chris Pratt, his voice performance as Mario in the upcoming feature adaptation of the Super Mario Bros. video game will be “unlike anything you’ve heard.”Variety got the chance to catch up with Pratt at the Wednesday night premiere of his new Amazon Prime Video series “The Terminal List” (more on that later!) to talk about finding his voice for the film, which co-stars Charlie Day as Luigi.There’s been much internet discussion over Pratt’s casting in the animated film as the Italian plumber despite his non-Italian background, with critics expressing concern that his accent could potentially be offensive.

Universal and Illumination’s Nintendo movie Super Mario Bros about the famed videogame plumbers, kart drivers and squashers of turtles is zipping from its Dec. 21 release date this year to April 7, 2023, which is Easter weekend.