If you asked anybody these days what Illumination is known for, they’d probably say Minions. From Secret Life of Pets, to Rise of Gru, the animation company seemed to be on a one-way content train. However, on October 6th, 2022, they took the Internet by storm!
Out of nowhere, Illumination dropped an official Super Mario Bros movie trailer! Within mere minutes, the trailer revealed Bowser, Mario, and Toad’s new looks and voices. While many were in awe over Jack Black’s Bowser, others were rather indifferent with Chris Pratt’s Mario voice over. This could be largely due to Pratt having to work a Brooklyn accent into his voice, but he’s getting better nonetheless.
Eventually, with every ounce of effort, the Minion-ran company did everything in its power to truly shed light on this remake of an old classic. With the Super Mario Bros movie just a month away, we at Geek News Now are more than happy to share everything we learned about the upcoming video game movie.
Illumination’s Insane Marketing!
Promotional Posters for Illumination’s Super Mario Bros Movie. Image from cartoonbrew.com
By now, it’s no secret Illumination is going well out of their way to rank in the support for Super Mario Bros. Not only releasing several trailers for the film across YouTube, but also a Super Bowl Commercial and major support from Nintendo, themselves. Both Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo CEO) and Chris Meledandri (Illumination CEO) were very excited to showcase one of many trailers during an official Mario Movie Direct on November 29th, last year.
Speaking of the Super Bowl Commercial, it was very surprising that Illumination and Nintendo created an official working Super Mario Bros Plumbing website, and contactable phone number. Once you make that phone call, of course, Luigi will be there to greet you via voicemail and redirect you to their website.
Of course, how can we also forget when the Video Game Awards (2022) revealed a unique clip starring Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. Add on the the promotional movie posters, McDonalds marketing, and the licensed toys, and the Super Mario Bros movie looks to be one of Illuminations greatest films to date. Maybe that’s where all the earnings from Rise of Gru went?
Truly, the Super Mario Bros Movie will hold all expectations of fans new and old.
Super Star Casting:
Casting for Super Mario Bros movie (2023). Image from deadline.com
As stated above, Illumination really wanted to make this movie worth watching. With that said, the roster for the top characters is incredible:
- Chris Pratt as Mario. Although he received poor reception for voicing the Italian plumber from Brooklyn, Pratt has been working relentlessly to perfect Mario’s voice, as evident from recent trailers.
- Charlie Day as Luigi. Currently the star of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Day voices the timid brother of the Mario Bros, as he attempts to escape Bowser’s clutches.
- Jack Black as Bowser. Once known as the Dragon Warrior, Po (Kung Fu Panda), Black now ironically plays the sinister villain Bowser. The Koopa King’s main goal of obtaining supreme power is near. The only obstacle seems to be Mario, who is being trained by Peach.
- Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach. This version of the usual damsel-in-distress, now stands tall as the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. Under her guidance, she begins to train Mario in fighting against the Koopa King, in hopes of stopping the tyrant.
- Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. Equipped with nothing more than a trusty frying pan, the young Mushroom Kingdom resident embarks on a quest to help Mario save his brother from Bowser.
- Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong. The battle-loving ape stands in the way of Mario’s goal of defeating Bowser, and saving the Mushroom Kingdom. Since Kong proves to be a formidable foe, maybe he can be Mario’s greatest ally.
In addition to the casting for Mario and Luigi, the official casting also revealed that the Bros will have a former employer known as ‘Foreman Spike’ voiced by Sebastian Maniscalco. Spike was introduced in a game titled ‘Wrecking Crew’, released back in 1984. Known as the antagonist of the brothers in the game, it seems fitting to give Spike the role of Mario and Luigi’s former boss. With an incredible lineup of amazing super stars, this film is looking to be the greatest video game film of all time.
Release Date?
Now, this was the confusing part. At first, Illumination had set the release date for the Super Mario Bros movie to April 7th. However, the latest trailers then showed the release date to be set to April 5th. This is quite possibly due to the company having received substantial support from both fans of the game and Nintendo. Who knows.
What are your thoughts on the Super Mario Bros movie? Do you think Illumination made a smart choice in making this film? Share with us your thoughts in the comments below. Also, be sure to check out our Facebook page, as we like to keep our viewers up-to-date on the latest happenings.
As Always, Stay Geeky!
