On the heels of its first poster being released, the official The Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer has arrived. The film, produced by Despicable Me studio Illumination Entertainment, marks the second adaptation of the Nintendo game franchise after the critically panned live-action 1993 movie. Chris Pratt is leading the ensemble cast of The Super Mario Bros. Movie in the titular role alongside Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, and Kevin Michael Richardson.
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Plot details for The Super Mario Bros. Movie are still being kept largely under wraps, though is expected to follow the same formula of the Nintendo platformer in which the titular plumber is tasked with saving Princess Peach from the villainous Bowser. Development on the film has been in the works since 2016, when franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto began meeting with Universal for the Universal Studios Super Nintendo World, with the studios hiring Teen Titans Go! creators Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic to direct and Minions: The Rise of Gru's Matthew Fogel to write the script. Audiences have anxiously awaited a look at The Super Mario Bros. Movie, namely to hear Pratt's voice as the iconic game character, and now, that glimpse has arrived.
As part of Nintendo's New York Comic-Con panel, Universal has unveiled the official Super Mario Bros. movie trailer. The video offers the first proper look at the animated film, including Pratt's voice as the titular plumber, a point of controversy through the film's development. Check out the trailer above:
How Super Mario Bros. Movie Trailer Honors Nintendo's Games
Though still keeping much of its plot under wraps, The Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer does offer a number of exciting glimpses to entice longtime fans of the video game franchise. Between its faithful and unique recreations of the Mushroom Kingdom and Bowser's Castle to Jack Black and Keegan-Michael Key's pitch-perfect Bowser and Toad vocal performances, the animated film looks to be honoring its Nintendo source material far better than the live-action 1993 movie did. With the confirmation of the Power Stars being a key MacGuffin for it will also be interesting to see how the other characters not shown in The Super Mario Bros. Movie Trailer factor in the story, potentially setting up a formula similar to Super Mario 64, in which players traveled to different worlds to collect enough to face off against Bowser.
The one element of The Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer that is sure to remain divisive is that of Chris Pratt's voice in the titular role, a casting choice that has remained controversial since it was announced. However, with the trailer already promising a far more faithful honoring of its source material than the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie, as well as the infamous first Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer, anticipation could grow in the lead up to its release. Only time will tell how the film favors in comparison to Paramount's hit speedster franchise when The Super Mario Bros. Movie hits theaters on April 7.
Source: Universal