‘Super Mario Bros.’ Star John Leguizamo Is Disappointed That The New Mario Movie ‘Went All White’

Bob Hoskins (R.I.P. to a shirtless legend) once called the Super Mario Bros. movie the “worst thing” he ever did. “It was a f*cking nightmare. The whole experience was a nightmare. It had a husband-and-wife team directing, whose arrogance had been mistaken for talent. After so many weeks their own agent told them to get off the set! F*cking nightmare. F*cking idiots,” the Mario actor said. Dennis Hopper, who played King Koopa, was also not a fan of the video game movie. “It was a nightmare, very honestly, that movie. It was a husband-and-wife directing team who were both control freaks and wouldn’t talk before they made decisions. Anyway, I was supposed to go down there for five weeks, and I was there for 17. It was so over budget,” he said.

John Leguizamo (Luigi) has always been the one cast member to, well, not defend Super Mario Bros., but he’s been the least vocal about his dislike of the movie. He even recorded a 20th anniversary message where he admitted that “we made a lot of mistakes, but I’m proud of the movie in retrospect.” On Monday, the To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar actor shared his thoughts on the new Mario movie.

“So glad #superMariobros is getting a reboot! Obviously it’s iconic enuff. But too bad they went all white! No Latinx in the leads! Groundbreaking color-blind casting in original! Plus I’m the only one who knows how to make this movie work script wise!” he tweeted. The still-untitled Mario movie stars Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. There’s more chiseled chin representation in the movie than actual representation, as the highest-billed person of color in the cast is Keegan-Michael Key as Toad.

The new Mario movie comes out on December 21, 2022.

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