The Super Mario Bros. Movie is banking at theaters, but John Leguizamo won’t be contributing to the film’s record-breaking success.
Leguizamo, who played the character Luigi in the 1993 live-action movie Super Mario Bros., went on record once again stating that he would not be watching the new animated film because of the lack of diversity in the cast.
“No, I will not [be watching],” Leguizamo told TMZ. “They could’ve included a Latin character. Like, I was groundbreaking [in the original movie] and then they stopped the groundbreaking. They messed up the inclusion. They dis-included. Just cast some Latin folk! We’re 20 percent of the population. The largest people of color group and we are underrepresented.”
He repeated his intention to avoid the new movie with a “hell no” when TMZ asked again if he would watch it.
Last October, Leguizamo tweeted that he was “so glad [Super Mario Bros.] is getting a reboot” but was disappointed that the studio “went all white” in the lead roles.
He also made similar comments to IndieWire last November about the animated film, which stars Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) and Charlie Day (Always Sunny in Philadelphia) in the main roles. “For them to go backwards and not cast another [actor of color] kind of sucks,” Leguizamo said.
For clarity, Anya Taylor-Joy (The Menu), who has Argentine roots, lends her voice to the character, Princess Peach. Last year, she told Remezcla how much she enjoyed preparing for the role.
“I love that I get to play Mario Kart and pretend that it’s work,” she said. “I’m like, ‘I’m having a great time!” It’s like, ‘Wait, I have to go do some research! I’ll be back in an hour!’”
See what John Leguizamo had to say below.
