The Best Part Of The Super Mario Bros. Trailer Is The Brief Glimpse Of Our Main Man Luigi

The first trailer for the Nintendo and Illumination's "Super Mario Bros." movie is here, and while many fans are focused on the Chris Pratt of it all, some of us just wanted a peek at the other pixelated plumber at the center of the franchise. That's right, I'm talking about the guy in green, Luigi! It takes more than just Mario to make up the Super Mario Bros., after all, and his brother Luigi is really the heart and soul of the franchise. Not only that, but while Pratt's casting as Mario raised more than a few eyebrows, almost no one is upset that "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star Charlie Day is voicing the taller, better-looking brother of the pair. Honestly, why didn't they just make a "Luigi's Mansion" movie? We don't have one of those yet, and we already have a "Super Mario Bros." movie!

Most of the trailer for the upcoming film shows Mario and Bowser (Jack Black) bopping around the Mushroom and Koopa Kingdoms, respectively, but there is a tiny glimpse at the end of my main man Luigi running from a pack of Dry Bones. Maybe I'll get my "Luigi's Mansion" wish after all!

Luigi Mario is the younger fraternal twin brother of Mario Mario, and was created for the second player to participate in gameplay in the original '80s "Mario Bros." game. He hasn't been quite as steadfast as his older brother throughout the years, and has undergone plenty of changes, as Nintendo tried to boost his appreciation with the disastrous "Year of Luigi" in 2013, but some of us have always loved the baby bro of the stout Italian plumber. He's always playing second fiddle to Mario, and in the one instance where he got his own game, "Luigi's Mansion," he's constantly running away from monsters instead of towards them. It's understandable that people aren't as keen on him, but I love an underdog, especially one with a good death glare. 

While most people view Luigi as a sidekick to his elder sibling, I like to think of him as the second-player protagonist worthy of his own heroic story. Almost every kid with a Super Nintendo forced their younger siblings to play as Luigi (myself included — sorry, bro!), but the older I get the more I realize that Luigi is way cooler than his princess-obsessed twin. After all, Mario tries to rescue Princess Peach in his games, but Luigi ends up saving Mario himself in "Luigi's Mansion." What do we call the guy who saves the hero? Luigi, apparently!

Luigi has a kind of nervous energy that's followed him throughout the franchise, and when I think of nervous energy, I think of Charlie Day. The actor, who stars as Charlie Kelly on the hit FXX series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," is great at playing high-strung but good-hearted underdogs who just can't catch a break. Charlie Kelly is the unsung hero of Paddy's Pub, keeping the place operational while the rest of the gang wreaks havoc, just like Luigi is the unsung hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, keeping his brother in line and occasionally saving his behind from Bowser. 

Pratt's voice casting is frustrating for a whole bunch of reasons, including the fact that it puts the original, long-time Mario voice actor, Charles Martinet, out of a job. Martinet has also done the voice of Luigi and several other characters in the franchise over the years, but Mario is the character that Martinet is most attached to, and he told Eurogamer in 2021 that he wants to voice Mario until he "drops dead." Replacing him with the "worst Chris" sucks, but letting a passionate performer tackle the role of his younger brother is much less egregious. After all, Luigi hasn't exactly been the most talkative character over all of these years. 

"Super Mario Bros." will bounce into theaters on December 22, 2022, and you'll be able to catch me in the front row dressed in green, waving a little "L" flag.