US-based Colombian actor John Leguizamo, who starred as Aurelio in John Wick, is miffed with the makers of animated film Super Mario Bros. The actor has criticised the all-white cast of the new film and the distinct lack of ‘Latinx leads’, reports Mirror.co.uk. According to Mirror.co.uk, Leguizamo (62), who was cast as Luigi in the live-action Super Mario Bros released in 1993, wasn’t impressed with the casting choice when Chris Pratt was announced as playing the iconic Italian plumber Mario. The Super Mario Bros Teaser: Chris Pratt Voices Mario in This Magical Film Adaptation of the Nintendo Video Game.
John expressed his concerns regarding the film after the release of the first trailer. He also praised the colour-blind casting decisions of the original that he starred in. Taking to Twitter, he wrote: “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 the original!” Its-A Me, Mario! Nintendo’s Mascot Super Mario Turns 35, Know Interesting Facts About the World’s Famous Gaming Platform Hero.
The term Latinx is used as a gender neutral description of those in the Latin community, inclusive of all gender experiences. The ‘Mirror’ further states that he went on to say that he was the only person who could make the movie work ‘script wise’, writing: “Plus I’m the only one who knows how to make this movie work script wise!” The movie is due to come out in 2023 and sees Chris Pratt play the iconic role of Mario, with Charlie Day being cast as his brother Luigi.
(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Oct 16, 2022 07:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).