It's safe to say that Nintendo's decision to cast Chris Pratt as Mario in the upcoming untitled Super Mario movie was met with hesitation from fans. Despite the controversial choice dominating internet conversation for the days following its announcement, Pratt has seemingly leaned into some of the absurdity of it and posted a hilarious video to his Instagram as something of a role reversal: instead of Pratt playing Mario, Mario is playing Pratt in his role as Star-lord in Guardians of the Galaxy.
The clip is from the end of the MCU film when Star-Lord grabs the Power Stone from Ronan before saving the day. In this version of the scene, however, Star-Lord is wearing the classic Mario hat and is sporting the plumber's mustache. What's more, the Power Stone has been replaced with a Super Star, and both Gamora and Star-lord's mother have been given other Mario characters' hats.
The funniest moments in the video, however, come from the times when Star-Lord speaks, as his voice has been replaced with a few of Mario's more famous lines. When grabbing the "star" Star-lord lets out the classic "waaaaah" from Super Mario 64 accompanied by the invincibility music.
Those who are familiar with the scene know that it's tied to the emotional climax of the movie as Peter Quill confronts some of his regrets following the death of his mother, but in Pratt's video, Quill's silent "Mom?" after seeing a vision of her on her deathbed is replaced by the first half of Mario's infamous "mama-mia."
All in all, the clip is pretty funny, especially for fans of Guardians of the Galaxy, but many are still wondering about what direction the Mario movie will be taking, especially given the fact that many Mario fans seem to think that Chris Pratt is a little bit miscast for the role. Pratt often plays the "every man-funny guy" in a lot of his roles and, while that could potentially work for Mario, some major decisions regarding the film's tone and style are still up in the air.
Either way, it seems like Pratt is enjoying his time breaking into some of the gaming space as he recently revealed that he, like many other Nintendo fans, has a longstanding childhood connection to the Mario games. Fans are still hoping to see a trailer soon with the full cast showing off exactly what direction the film is taking, but there hasn't been any news on that front since the cast announcement.
Super Mario will premiere in theaters December 21, 2022.
Source: Instagram