John Leguizamo Says "Hell No" To Watching THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE Because They "Messed Up The Inclusion"
John Leguizamo, the actor who played Luigi in the original Super Mario Bros. movie, has absolutely no desire to watch the recently released The Super Mario Bros. Movie. He’s explained that he’s pretty upset about the casting.
As you know, Chris Pratt and Charlie Day were cast in the roles of Mario and Luigi, and Leguizamo feels like the creative team messed up on the casting of the film because of its lack of inclusion. The actor previously told TMZ:
“No I will not [be watching]. They could’ve included a Latin character. Like I was groundbreaking and then they stopped the groundbreaking. They messed up the inclusion. They dis-included. Just cast some Latin folk! We’re 20% of the population. The largest people of color group and we are underrepresented.”
When asked again by TMZ if he would be watching the movie, Leguizamo answered: “Hell no!”
Leguizamo has been speaking out against the movie since it was first announced saying that the Mario movie reboot was a good idea but it was “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!”
While speaking to IndieWire last year, Leguizamo said the new movie is “backwards” for having two white actors voice the main characters. He went on to talk about his experience with the version of the film he made, and how the directors fought for him to be in the film:
“I’m O.G. A lot of people love the original. I did Comic-Con in New York and in Baltimore, and everyone’s like, ‘No, no, we love the old one, the original.’ They’re not feeling the new one.’ I’m not bitter. It’s unfortunate.
“The directors Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton fought really hard for me to be the lead because I was a Latin man, and they [the studio] didn’t want me to be the lead. They fought really hard, and it was such a breakthrough. For them to go backwards and not cast another [actor of color] kind of sucks.”
I enjoyed the new Super Mario Bros. movie, but it’s obviously not going to be for everyone. What are your thoughts on the new film? What are your thoughts on what Leguizamo is saying here?