Actress Anya Taylor-Joy is on her way to the Mushroom Kingdom.
Illumination and Nintendo announced the voice cast of the upcoming Super Mario Bros. animated movie, and “The Queen’s Gambit” star has received a royal role. Taylor-Joy, who is British-Argentine, will lend her voice to Princess Peach, a main character in the Super Mario Bros. video game franchise.
“Mario and Luigi are two of the most beloved heroes in all of popular culture, and we are honored to have the unique opportunity to work so closely with [Nintendo game director] Shigeru Miyamoto and the widely imaginative team at Nintendo to bring these characters to life in an animated movie, unlike any film Illumination has made to date,” said Chris Meledandri, founder and CEO of Illumination.
Along with Taylor-Joy, the all-star cast includes Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. The movie will premiere on December 21, 2022.
The last time the Super Mario Bros. franchise hit theaters as a feature film was in 1993 when John Leguizamo and Bob Hoskins starred in the live-action film as the famous plumber brothers, Mario and Luigi. The late Dennis Hopper played King Koopa.
Twitter users were quick to come up with some hilarious takes on the casting.
With Taylor-Joy taking on the role of Princess Peach, Illumination and Nintendo might to have to rethink the whole damsel in distress angle. Given her roles in The Queen’s Gambit and Split, Taylor-Joy has built a resume on playing strong female characters — but hey, it’s 2021, and there’s certainly room for opportunity in giving Peach a more empowered role.