SNL Host Pedro Pascal Spoofs The Last Of Us With A Prestige HBO Adaptation Of Mario Kart

When director Todd Phillips brought us his dark, gritty take on the Joker in "Joker," we also got one of the best "Saturday Night Live" spoofs in recent years: "Grouch," starring David Harbour as a dark, gritty version of Oscar the Grouch living in a dark, gritty version of "Sesame Street." 

But it's 2023 now, and we've moved on; dark and gritty is out, and bleak and moody is in. This week's "Saturday Night Live" host Pedro Pascal got the chance to spoof his own show, HBO's prestige drama adaptation of post-apocalyptic video game "The Last of Us," with a bleak, moody, prestige drama adaptation of another iconic game.

"HBO Mario Kart" actually works surprisingly well, though maybe that's just because the worlds of both "The Last of Us" and "Mario Kart" are dominated by mushrooms. And while the HBO-ified "Mario Kart" does take some creative liberties, there are also some details which are accurate to the video game, like Yoshi and Toad being bisexual. Check out the sketch, which features some frankly very impressive production values, below.

While Pascal leads the cast as the haunted, gravelly-voiced, mushroom-addicted plumber turned smuggler, the supporting cast of "HBO Mario Kart" is fleshed out by Kenan Thompson as Bowser, Chloe Fineman as Princess Peach, Mikey Day as Luigi, Bowen Yang as Yoshi, and Marcello Hernández as Toad. 

Though it's played for laughs, the aesthetic isn't far removed from the 1993 "Super Mario Bros." movie, whose set was built in an abandoned cement factory and designed by "Blade Runner" art director David L. Snyder. Summarizing the vision of "Dinohattan" in a 1992 set visit report, New York Times journalist Michael Specter wrote:

New York has entered a state of intense decay. A giant fungus crawls across the city, feeding on brick and mortar. The Hudson River has become a dusty plain, and what's left of Manhattan — five seedy blocks surrounding the plundered towers of the World Trade Center — has turned into an eerie universe of reptiles and con men. Rotted car bodies have become easier to find than water or wood. And an obnoxious despot, ruling the city with whimsical fury, has decided he had better do something fast, or the place will be history.

If you'd prefer a slightly brighter and more kid-friendly adaptation of Nintendo's beloved video games, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" is set to hit theaters in April. But if you like your fungi best when it's a horrifying, zombie-creating nightmare, a new episode of "The Last of Us" airs tonight at 9/8c on HBO.