John Leguizamo has bluntly explained why he will not be watching The Super Mario Bros Movie.
In November, the Latin actor criticised the casting of Chris Pratt and Charlie Day in the animated film, which is out on Friday (7 April).
Leguizamo, who played Luigi in a 1993 live-action film based on the video game, described the casting as “backwards”.
Now, he has said there is no way he’ll be watching the new version, stating “hell no” when asked.
“I will not [be watching],” he told TMZ, adding: “They could’ve included a Latin character.”
Leguizamo continued: “They stopped the ground-breaking. They messed up the inclusion; they dis-included. Just cast some Latin folk.
“We’re 20 per cent of the population. The largest people of colour group and we are underrepresented.”
Speaking about his former role in November, Leguizamo highlighted the lengths the 1993 film’s directors, Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, went to in order to get him cast in the role.
“They fought really hard for me to be the lead because I was a Latin man, and they [the studio] didn’t want me to be the lead. They fought really hard, and it was such a breakthrough.
For them to go backwards and not cast another [Latin actor] kind of sucks.”
Leguizamo, who starred in his Super Mario Bros film opposite Bob Hoskins, previously said of Pratt and Day’s casting on Twitter: “Too bad they went all white! No Latinx in the leads! Groundbreaking color-blind casting in original!
“Plus I’m the only one who knows how to make this movie work script-wise!”
The Super Mario Bros Movie has been receiving poor reviews, including from The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey.
Those who have seen the film, though, are also warning prospective viewers to stick around during the end credits in order to avoid a fun Mario Easter egg.
Leguizamo can currently be seen in Amazon series The Power.
Source: www.independent.co.uk
