Why Wasn't Chris Pratt's Mario Movie At The Nintendo Direct?
Illumination is taking us down the warp pipe with the currently untitled Mario movie, and although some expected trailer or at least an update, that portly plumber was MIA from the recent Nintendo Direct.
Once upon a time, Mario movies were remembered for the divisive Super Mario Bros. that lead actor Bob Hoskins called the worst thing he'd ever made. However, in a post-Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog world, there's a renewed hope that video game adaptations can beat their critics. Still, not everyone is convinced by Chris Pratt playing Mario.
Where Was Mario At The Nintendo Direct?
The latest Nintendo Direct gave us a whole host of announcements, including Resident Evil Village on Switch, the reveal of Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, and confirmation that Breath of the Wild 2 is officially called Tears of the Kingdom. Although Shigeru Miyamoto was there, he only gave a nod toward Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic's upcoming outing.
There was some Mario news in the form of gameplay footage of Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, news that Pauline and Diddy Kong are coming to Mario Strikers: Battle League season 2, and the long-awaited arrival of Mario Party, Mario Party 2, Mario Party 3 to the Nintendo Switch Online's N64 catalogue.
Taking to Twitter, many were asking why there was a Mario movie-shaped hole in our schedules. Someone laughed, "I find it hilarious that when Miyamoto showed up, everyone expected him to introduce the Mario Movie trailer but ended up showing Pikmin 4 instead." Someone else chuckled, "The tears come from the salty Nintendo fans wanting Metroid Prime 4 and Mario Movie info," and a third concluded, "Ends always justify the means unless your name is Nintendo Direct 9.13.2022."
What's Going On With The Mario Movie?
Critics had their own theories, with one cynic writing, "'Why won't they show the Mario movie?!' dawg they are EMBARRASSED. they know that sh*t is gonna be a**." Another added, "The fact Nintendo hasn't shown ANY footage of the Mario Movie makes me believe they are embarrassed of it." Finally, someone joked, "it's going to be funny when the Mario movie trailer drops and right before it plays Miyamoto comes out and says that everything in his career has led to this, then the first shot is Mario farting."
We're galloping toward the Mario movie's supposed April 7 release, meaning fans are rightly confused about why we haven't seen so much as a teaser of Pratt in action as the video game legend. There have been a few sporadic interviews with the likes of Anya Taylor-Joy's Princess Peach, but apart from that and plans for a Mario Cinematic Universe, things have been oddly quiet. As we wait for our first look at the Mushroom Kingdom, let's not pretend critics aren't going to absolutely annihilate it.