Next year, Universal and Illumination Entertainment will release an animated adaptation of the Super Mario games. Nintendo revealed the voice cast for the film last year, with Chris Pratt set to play the mustachioed mascot himself. The move caused a lot of confusion among longtime Mario fans, including those who wished Charles Martinet had taken the lead. In a new interview with Variety, producer Chris Meledandri praised Pratt’s work on the film, revealing that production is currently 75% complete. Apparently, there were about 15 recording sessions in total, and Meledandri was quite pleased with the results.

“Chris was cast because we thought he could give a great performance as Mario. And now that we’ve done about 15 recording sessions and the movie is three-quarters done, I’m sitting here and I say I love his performance as Mario,” Meledandri told Variety.

A live action Super Mario Bros. film released in theaters in 1993. The film departed significantly from the source material, and negative reception kept Nintendo away from theatrical adaptations of its properties for decades. This time around, creator Shigeru Miyamoto is “very hands-on” with the Mario adaptation, which could bode well for his loyalty to Nintendo’s vision. It could also lead to additional Nintendo adaptations in the future; fans have been wanting to see a Zelda movie for quite a while! Hopefully Pratt’s performance turns out to be enjoyable for both longtime fans and casual audiences alike.

Pratt was clearly the most controversial actor announced for the film, but the rest of the cast was fairly well received. The actor will be joined by Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek and Sebastian. Maniscalco as Spike. Although Charles Martinet won’t be reprising the role of Mario, his voice will be heard in the film in one form or another. The film is currently set to hit theaters on April 7, 2023.

Are you excited for Illumination’s Mario movie? Do you think it will be a success? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!