Last night, Nintendo held one of its Nintendo Direct livestreams, which the company hosts to provide updates about its upcoming games, consoles, and other endeavors.
This time, mixed in with new game trailers, updates, and character reveals, fans got a LOT more information about the upcoming full-length, animated movie about Mario and his pals. While Nintendo had already announced its plans to work with Illumination (the studio behind the successful Minions franchise) for the movie, yesterday’s presentation revealed the release date and cast.
The movie is officially slated to debut in U.S. theaters next year, on December 21. Which is interesting, but not nearly as interesting as the voice cast, which is packed with a wild mix of (mostly A-list) talent. Chris Pratt (?!) will have the titular role of Mario, while The Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy will be Princess Peach. The cast also includes Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike. There will also be “surprise cameos” from Charles Martinet, who has voiced Mario and other characters in Nintendo games over the years.
At this time, the movie is only referred to as “the Mario movie.” It is unclear if the movie will be called Mario or if it will have a different title.
Check out the full Nintendo Direct below. The portion about the Mario movie begins at the 28:30 mark.
