For those of you who were wondering how Chris Pratt could make himself sound like Mario in that upcoming Super Mario film, you can stop wondering. He won’t.

Still not too sure about this.

A Distinct Lack of Mario’s Voice in His Own Film?

During a street interview (posted on YouTube) with toofab, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri, and co-producer of the upcoming Super Mario film, confirms a bit of odd news about the film. As we know, Chris Pratt is set to voice Mario in the film. If you’ve ever listened to Pratt’s voice he doesn’t sound anything like Mario. Not even close. Just listen to Pratt’s voice in his video diary from Jurassic World below:

Do you hear Mario anywhere in here? Me neither.

Apparently, Chris Pratt isn’t even going to try to sound like Mario. According to Chris Meledandri, Pratt is going to dial down any Italian accent, especially on the iconic “It’s-a me, Mario!” bits. Meledandri says that there is going to be a “bit of Italianishness”, but otherwise, it will be absent from Pratt’s performance. Meledandri continues to say that they’ve made this choice because he believes an over-the-top Italian accent like that would not fit in with the tenor of the film. However, he assures viewers that it won’t be something to get up in arms over once we actually see the Super Mario film. At least, we hope so.

Chris Pratt as Mario: Not Looking So Good Now?

I’ll be honest here, I don’t think this bodes well for the upcoming Super Mario film. Mario’s over-the-top Italian accent is one of the most iconic features in his games. The choice to make Pratt not do the voice is going to make Mario less…Mario. Maybe Pratt will do a decent job in characterization, but without doing that iconic voice, it’s already getting pretty far from the Mario we all know and love. Pratt will have to do a really good job in his voicework to make up for that. I guess we’ll have to see if he lives up to the plumber’s legacy when we finally get to see that Super Mario film on December 21, 2022.

Check back with That Hashtag Show for more Super Mario movie updates!

Source: toofab YouTube, toofab, Entertainment Tonight YouTube, Nintendo YouTube