John Leguizamo has slammed the all-white cast of Super Mario Bros. film and lack of ‘Latinx leads’ on Saturday.
The actor, 62, who played Luigi in the 1993 live-action, critiqued the casting choices as the film sees Chris Pratt take on the iconic role of the Italian plumber Mario.
Following the release of the first trailer for the upcoming film, John voiced his concerns whilst praising the groundbreaking colour-blind casting’ of the original.
Thoughts: John Leguizamo, 62, has slammed the all-white cast of Super Mario Bros. film and lack of ‘Latinx leads’ on Saturday (pictured in March 2022)
Taking Twitter, he penned: ‘So glad #SuperMarioBros is getting a reboot! Obviously, it’s iconic [enough].
‘But too bad they went all white! No Latinx in the leads! Groundbreaking colour-blind casting in original! Plus I’m the only one who knows how to make this movie work script-wise!’
Latinx is a term is intended to be gender neutral, and inclusive of people who are transgender or non-binary.
Not happy: Following the release of the first trailer for the upcoming film (pictured), John voiced his concerns whilst praising the groundbreaking colour-blind casting’ of the original
Critique: Taking Twitter, he penned: ‘But too bad they went all white! No Latinx in the leads! Groundbreaking colour-blind casting in original!’
He attached three screenshots of himself as Luigi and Bob Hoskins, who played Mario, from the 1993 film.
In the photo captioned, he wrote: ‘Apologise to this movie right now!’
The reboot sees Chis take on the role of Mario while American actor Charlie Day will star as his twin brother Luigi.
John has long been an advocate for Latin actors in Hollywood, which extended to sitting out the 2020 Emmy Awards ceremony after no Latin actors were nominated in acting categories that year.
Role: The new film sees Chris Pratt (pictured) take on the iconic role of the Italian plumber Mario
Super Mario fans got a sneak peek of the highly-anticipated animated film starring Chris and Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach on Thursday.
The very first trailer for the upcoming film, Super Mario Bros., was released and kicked off with a bang with Bowser (Jack Black) obtaining a gold star after facing off against an army of penguins.
Mario is then introduced landing in Mushroom Kingdom and meeting Toad (Keegan-Michael Key).
Upcoming: Super Mario fans got a sneak peek of the highly-anticipated animated film starring Chris and Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach on Thursday
Sidekick! Mario’s brother Luigi, will be voiced by American actor Charlie Day
In June, Chris opened up on the discussion of his landing the role of Mario in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. film, as he’s not of Italian heritage.
The Minnesota native, 43, spoke with Variety about the notion some people could be put off by the accent he uses to play the famed video game plumber, as a number of people took to social media last fall skeptical of the casting decision.
‘I worked really closely with the directors and trying out a few things and landed on something that I’m really proud of,’ Pratt said, ‘and can’t wait for people to see and hear.’
The Guardians Of The Galaxy star clarified that the film is ‘not a live-action movie’ but ‘an animated voiceover narrative,’ adding, ‘I’m not gonna be wearing a plumber suit running all over. ‘
One of the film’s producers, Chris Meledandri, told TooFab last November, said of Pratt’s performance: ‘All I can tell you is the voice that he’s doing for us, and Mario, is phenomenal. Yeah I can’t wait for people to hear it.’
Meledandri said that ‘as an Italian-American,’ he understood ‘the comments,’ adding that ‘Charlie Day, who’s playing Luigi, actually comes from Italian heritage. Yeah so that’s our nod.’
Issues: The Minnesota native, 43, spoke with Variety about the notion some people could be put off by the accent he uses to play the famed video game plumber