Jack Black nominates Pedro Pascal as Wario for the inevitable The Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel

Jack Black is thinking about a "more powerful, more evil villain" for the follow-up Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel

By Gabrielle Sanchez | April 10, 2023 | 8:00pm

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Jack Black nominates Pedro Pascal as Wario for the inevitable The Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel

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Pedro Pascal, Jack Black Photo: Jon Kopaloff

The Super Mario Bros. Movie may have just entered theaters, but star Jack Black is already putting together his dream voice cast for the sequel. After voicing the big bad Bowser for the animated feature, he’s picked out who he thinks is the perfect person to play Wario: Pedro Pascal.

“It’s not a given that Bowser will return. You know, I did a few Kung Fu Panda movies, and it was a different villain every movie. They may do the same thing,” Black tells GameSpot.

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Black continues, “You know, what if there is a more powerful, more evil villain? Then I may need to be turned to help Mario and the rest to defend our universe against some other unseen force of evil. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Wario. Pedro Pascal is Wario.”

While Wario did not appear in the first film, a sequel would likely bring other famed Super Mario Bros. characters into the fold, meaning more opportunities for controversial casting decisions. Who knows how Pascal feels about being compared to Wario, but Black seems to think The Last Of Us star would be perfect.

It’s very likely The Super Mario Bros. Movie will become just the first film in what will be a franchise—if Illumination and Universal have their way. A sequel has not yet been officially announced, but with the film’s record-breaking performance at both domestic and international box offices, it’s all but certain a follow-up will soon be in the works. If there is one thing production companies love right now, it’s endlessly exploitable IPs.

With its opening weekend (running Wednesday through Sunday), The Super Mario Bros. Movie has taken the title of biggest five-day domestic opening of all time, with $204.6 million in box office sales. It marks Illumination’s best theatrical debut and easily beat out other video game adaptations.