If you’re one of the millions who grew up fighting Bowser and his henchmen, repeatedly rescuing the suspiciously easy-to-capture Princess Peach and eating a lot of mushrooms, you’re going to love this news. Mario and Liugi—The Mario Bros—are headed for a big screen reboot, with a new animated feature film set to hit theatres on 21 December 2022. And just wait till you hear about the cast!

Chris Pratt will voice everyone’s favourite Italian plumber Mario, with Charlie Day playing his brother Luigi. Emmy nominee Anya Taylor-Joy of Queen’s Gambit fame will play Princess Peach. Jack Black will be back on the big screen as the game’s antagonist Bowser. Other cast members include Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong and comedian Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike.

Made by Chris Melendari’s Illumination studio—which gave us Despicable Me, Secret Life of Pets and Sing—the project is co-financed by Universal and Nintendo. Matthew Fogel (The Lego Movie 2) will script the film, which will be directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who have collaborated on the animated series Teen Titans Go!

“Mario and Luigi are two of the most beloved heroes in all of popular culture, and we are honoured to have the unique opportunity to work so closely with 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,” Meledandri said, announcing the cast at yesterday’s Nintendo Direct event.

“We are collaborating with Chris and his experienced team to not just create a character licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros. to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy whether or not they know about the game,” added Miyamoto. “The production so far is constructive and going very well, and both parties are learning a lot from each other.