Woo hoo! Nintendo drops official teaser for 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie'
It's-A Mario, and he's finally coming to the big screens as Nintendo has debuted the official teaser trailer for the Illumination-produced film The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Released during a Nintendo Direct livestreamed on Oct. 7, the two-minute trailer opens with Mario's menacing archenemy Bowser and his Koopa army as they attack a nation of penguins that notably appeared in Super Mario 64's fourth course Cool, Cool Mountain.
As Bowser easily conquers the icy kingdom and retrieves a Super Star, he asks who could stop his reign of terror.
Enter Mario, Nintendo's most famous character and mascot, as he gets transported in a land filled with mushrooms and is guided by Toad towards the Mushroom Kingdom. His twin brother Luigi also appears at the end of the trailer, being chased by a hoard of Dry Bones.
The film has Chris Pratt lending his voice for the iconic character while Jack Black stars as the villainous Bowser. In the Nintendo Direct, Pratt said that he could never be happier in being able to play as Mario.
"Growing up, I spent hours of my life stomping Koopas in the original Mario Bros. arcade game at my local laundromat. It's an honor, truly, to be able to speak the man who created those memories for me. It's been a lifelong dream of mine to become Mario," Pratt said.
But every great hero needs a diabolical enemy, and the 43-year-old Pratt stressed that he could not have been partnered with a more perfect actor to play as Bowser than his friend Jack Black, who jokingly said he has been preparing to become the monstrous character for a long time now.
"While you've been dreaming about playing Mario, I've been preparing—look at all this Koopa muscle I've packed on," Black said to his co-star.
He added, "This flowing mane didn't just appear overnight. Do you have any idea how long it took me to learn how to breathe fire? I had to learn it from Gene Simmons of Kiss."
The Super Mario Bros. Movie also stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong.
While Universal, Illumination and Nintendo have not released an official synopsis, the film is likely to follow Mario as he clashes with Bowser in an attempt to save the various kingdoms from his total control.
It's been nearly 40 years since the original Mario Bros. game was released in Japan. The character is near-unanimously considered to be the most iconic in the video game world and his series is the best-selling franchise in the industry, having sold a total of roughly 740 million units.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is slated for an April 7 release next year.