- Glover campaigned for the Yoshi role, wanting to play a character who only speaks their name.
- Glover admits feeling ‘a little timid’ about taking on such an iconic character, but is determined to deliver.
- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie boasts an impressive ensemble cast, aiming to replicate the success of the first film.
Donald Glover isn’t a man of few words, but for his latest role in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, he really wanted to take on a role of a character who doesn’t say anything but his name.
Watch out, Groot, Yoshi is coming, and he can become the latest fictional character whose only verbiage is yelling out his name, and other sounds to steal the hearts of millions of moviegoers.
Glover, who is best known for taking on roles that speak a lot, won’t have to do that when it comes to playing Yoshi, and according to his Super Mario Galaxy Movie co-star Jack Black, he pitched himself to take on that role.
Black, who plays Mario’s (Chris Pratt) nemesis Bowser, revealed to ExtraTV that Glover “campaigned for the role.”
“It’s kind of a cool thing. We got lucky that we got Brie [Larson], who crushes it and loves the Nintendo universe. And also Donald, who campaigned for the role. He told his agent, ‘Call [Illumination CEO] Chris Meledandri. Tell him I really want to be Yoshi, I’d love to be in the new “Super Mario Bros.” ‘Because he loves it, and he loves that universe.”
Donald Glover Admits He Was “A Little Timid” When Becoming Yoshi
Also speaking with ExtraTV, Glover admitted that he was “a little timid” when he first took on the role of Yoshi. He added, “I was like, ‘OK, how am I gonna do this? These guys did such a great job on the first one.’” He added, “And that’s a hard thing to do. It’s a very iconic movie and character. I always believe in the idea of under-promising, over-delivering, and was like, ‘I’ll just study really hard, and hopefully I’ll be beloved like them.’”
Glover is the latest big name attached to this movie, including Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Brie Larson as Princess Rosalina, Issa Rae as Honey Queen, Glen Powell as Fox McCloud, Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr., Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Luis Guzmán as Wart.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie arrives in theaters on April 1, and Universal Pictures, Illumination, and Nintendo hope this sequel is a billion-dollar success like the first film.
All signs point to that being the case.
Keep it locked on HHW Gaming for our thoughts on the film and fan reactions.
