- John Leguizamo said he'd "consider" a role in a "Super Mario Bros. Movie" sequel if it were more inclusive.
- The actor has called out the film for being less inclusive than the 1993 Mario film in which he starred.
John Leguizamo said that he'd "consider" accepting a role in a sequel to "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," but only if the film became more inclusive.
Leguizamo, long an advocate for Latin representation in Hollywood, starred in the 1993 "Super Mario Bros." movie as Luigi opposite Bob Hoskins' Mario. The actor has called out the new animated "Super Mario Bros. Movie," which is voiced by Chris Pratt and Charlie Day as Mario and Luigi, for its comparative lack of diversity in the voice acting cast.
Leguizamo told IndieWire that if the film became more inclusive in a hypothetical sequel, he wouldn't necessarily be opposed to joining the franchise.
"If they start to do the right thing and add more inclusivity, I'd consider it," he said.
Leguizamo is currently promoting his new MSNBC series 'Leguizamo Does America," which features the actor traveling from city to city in the United States highlighting Latino stories. He's also currently starring in "The Power" on Prime Video alongside Toni Collette, Toheeb Jimoh, and Auli'i Cravalho.
The actor previously told TMZ that he wouldn't be watching "The Super Mario Bros." movie because it represented a step back in inclusion from his casting in the 1993 film. He also made similar comments in a separate interview with IndieWire in November 2022, saying the film not casting another actor of color in the role "kind of sucks."
"I spoke my mind," Leguizamo said of his criticisms of the film in the April IndieWire interview. "The directors of the last one fought really hard to have inclusivity, to have me in there, and it's sad that they went backwards instead of forwards. They didn't meet the times. I know it's a big hit, but that doesn't make it OK."