The Last of Us continues to receive widespread acclaim, but what if HBO made a Mario Kart TV series? While this year will see the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie from animation studio Illumination, this gritty live-action reimagining takes its cues from the post-apocalyptic Mad Max franchise...oh, and did we mention it stars Pedro Pascal?
The Mandalorian actor presented Saturday Night Live this past weekend, and while it was a fun show, this "HBO" trailer with The Last of Us star playing Mario is, quite frankly, amazing.
There are tonnes of hilarious nods to the games here, but with an HBO spin that makes a lot of its lead characters bisexual and gives Mario an addiction to mushrooms so he can "feel big." It's basically The Last of Us combined with Super Mario, but you haven't lived until you see Pascal say "It's-a-me, Mario" in the most deadly serious manner possible.
Chloe Fineman joins Mario on his journey as Princess Peach, while we're treated to appearances from the likes of Yoshi and Luigi along the way as well.
The iconic video game character did once star in a live-action movie, 1993's Super Mario Bros., but the less said about that, the better. It's honestly hard to imagine how the franchise could ever work in that space, and while this trailer is fun, we're not sure this is the movie any Nintendo fan is really looking for!
Regardless, this is a hilarious riff on Mario Kart and one that shows just how brilliant Pascal is. The actor has had a busy few years between The Mandalorian, Wonder Woman 1984, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and now The Last of Us, but we're sure his fanbase will only continue to increase with memorable appearances like this!
Check out the full SNL skit below.