Chris Pratt will be back playing Mario for the second time in the animated sequel The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Following the success of the 2023 animated adaptation of the popular video game, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which garnered over $1.3 billion worldwide, the second installment in the franchise will hit theaters on April 1, 2026. In a recent interview, Pratt explained why Mario’s Italian accent will be dialed back a notch in the movie.
Mario’s iconic phrase will have a Brooklyn touch!
In a conversation with ScreenRant while promoting the upcoming Mario movie, the Hollywood actor stated that the film intentionally tones down Mario’s Italian accent, as the character in the adaptation is from Brooklyn. This marks a departure from Nintendo’s video game version, where the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom has a strong and exaggerated Italian accent.
“I’m like, ‘Why does it make sense for a guy who’s from Brooklyn who doesn’t have that accent to use that so much?’ So it was always tough,” the Guardians of the Galaxy star said. He further explained that he struggled with how to say Mario’s iconic phrase, “Mamma Mia,” in the movie, as it is not necessarily something a Brooklyn-born native would utter in common parlance.
“They’re like, ‘It’s written as “Mamma Mia.”’ But I’m like, if I’m expressing some reverence or some sense of, ‘Oh wow, Mamma Mia.’ But that’s not something necessarily a person says unless they’re doing the Italian accent,” he added.
To work his way around the conundrum, the actor explained that he tried a slowed-down variant of the popular catchphrase that would give it more of a Brooklyn intonation rather than a classic Italian one.
“So it’s always really hard to find how ‘Mamma Mia’ works… I’ve always tried to vary. I think that’s maybe why they slowed it down to take some of the stink off it because I’m not sure I ever fully got it right, but it’s like, ‘Maaammaaa Miaaaa,’” Pratt noted.
The red-capped Italian-American plumber will be back with his brother Luigi for more adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom. Are you excited to watch The Super Mario Galaxy Movie? Let us know in the comments section below.
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