Chris Pratt Says His Mario Voice is ‘Updated,’ ‘Unlike Anything You’ve Heard’

What will Chris Pratt sound like as the voice of Super Mario in the upcoming Illumination movie? It is the mundane question that is setting the world on fire. Will he just sound like Chris Pratt? Will he sound like an embarrassing caricature? Will he be completely mute as a weird prank on the audience? Today, Chris Pratt elaborated a bit on his Super Mario voice to Variety, saying the voice has been “updated” and “unlike anything you’ve heard” from the franchise so far:

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. It’s an animated voiceover narrative. It’s not a live-action movie. I’m not gonna be wearing a plumber suit running all over. I’m providing a voice for an animated character, and it is updated and unlike anything you’ve heard in the Mario world before.

So, Pratt will not sound anything like Charles Martinet, the usual voice actor for Mario (and who will also voice several characters in the upcoming movie). And according to Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri, Pratt will provide a voice that is entertaining and satisfying despite not being Italian American like Mario. That still isn’t much to go on, but it’s something.

There are unverified story leaks for the Super Mario movie online, but Luigi actor Charlie Day has previously said Nintendo would break his neck if he ever spoke about the script. Fingers crossed that Day will be alive and well when the movie arrives in theaters in April 2023.