American stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco has revealed that he has a role in Illumination's upcoming Super Mario movie, and people are speculating that it signals a return for an old and relatively minor Nintendo character in the film.
As a guest on the 5th August edition of the Bertcast, a podcast hosted by fellow comedian Bert Kreischer, Maniscalco was asked about his plans for the rest of the day and he replied thusly:
I'm in a movie, Super Mario Bros., an animated movie. So I'm playing, erm, Spike, their boss. So I'm gonna do that at 12.
Spike? Who's Spike? you might ask. Well, as @Eponge2L on Twitter was quick to point out, Foreman Spike starred in Wrecking Crew alongside the Mario Bros., so it's likely this is who Maniscalco is referring to:
You can watch the entire episode yourself and get the full context on Kreischer's archived YouTube video of the show. While Maniscalco is a stand-up first and foremost, he has previously lent his acting talents to such Hollywood productions as Green Book and Martin Scorsese's The Irishman.
It should be noted that there's also an Super Mario Bros. enemy called Spike — as Bob L'ésponge also points out below — although it would seem (to us, at least) far more likely that the Foreman will be featuring in the film in a speaking role rather than the little green dude that throws spiky balls at the plumber.
If you've forgotten about Wrecking Crew and are looking to familiarise yourself with this NES/Famicom game, it's available as part of Nintendo Switch Online's NES library. The Arcade Archives VS. Wrecking Crew version is also available on Switch eShop if you can't get enough of the 'Crew and you're really gonna wreck it.
As for the movie itself, we heard last year that it was "making good progress", and in May we reported that Chris Meledandri, the founder of animation company Illumination, now had a "non-executive outside director" role at Nintendo. More recently, we heard that Universal's new streaming exclusivity deal with Peacock will affect the upcoming animated film.
Foreman Spike, eh? Let us know below if you believe we'll be seeing him return on the big screen or if there's another Spike you think will be assuming the boss role in the upcoming Mario movie.
[source youtube.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 60
Woah makes me wonder what the story will be if they're going to use such an obscure Mario character.
Interesting, really excited to see how this turns out.
I've been thinking that it's time for Spike's revival. Pauline has had her revival and now she's clearly joining the current Mario Bros roster. Wouldn't be surprised if Spike starts to appear in other games after this as well.
No thank you!! Easy pass.
Hooray? Mario and Rabbids taught me that I literally couldn’t care less about Mario plot so yeah, this is not my kinda thing.
This is exactly what I want from an initial Mario Bros. movie.
Have Mario and Luigi working for Foreman Spike's Wrecking Crew, then have Mario have to save his girlfriend Pauline from an escaped Cranky Kong (DK Sr - or I guess they could streamline the story by removing the Kong generations and just making OG Donkey Kong into modern DK). And then have the brothers get a new job cleaning toilets before they get sucked down a sewer pipe into the Mushroom Kingdom. Maybe Wario and Waluigi can be other workers for the Wrecking Crew who torment Mario & Luigi.
If that is in fact for real, that's really obscured and kind of funny.
I wonder if it's even true. If this was Marvel, they would have his guts for garters if he revealed an unannounced character in one of their films.
Haha, bert kreischer is hilarious.
I hope Ron Jeremy gets to reprise his role as the plumber swinging pipe 😄
Something tells me this will result in Nintendo cancelling the movie, if too much details are revealed before it hits. Remember what happened with other projects?
Uhm. Yay?
Too bad that is from Illumination. Their movies are terrible.
@nessisonett I wouldn't consider Mario and Rabbids cannon.
Hmm, I am curious now. Doesn't sound like your average: Mario goes to the castle to save Peach from Bowser if Foreman Spike is in it. But we'll see.
Sweet deal, sebastian is one of my favorite comedians.
Whoa, disclosures. Miyamoto is going to flip his M stamped lid! That’s no exaggeration!!
why Nintendo is using such obcure character for the movie of one of it most important franchise?
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Let me guess the story - Mario rescues a princess
Spike's here. Good. Now we need Iggy to finally complete the Super Koopa Cousins.
I love Sebastian and either way I’ll be seeing this movie.
:: goes back to waiting not-so-patiently for tomorrow’s PS5 Abandoned “trailer” ::
@nessisonett Mario plus Rabbids is Ubisoft, it’s not the game to decide not to care about plot because of.
I have never heard of this dude before. Is his standup funny? What's he known for?
@Clyde_Radcliffe Everything Mario exists in is canon.
everything 😳
i bet nintedo immediately fired this voice actor and replaced him with another one because we all know how muc they are sensitive with upcoming unreleased projects
I wonder if he is going to be fired and recast for revealing that. Lol!
I do find it illuminating though (no pun intended) that they seem to be digging deep into the franchise's roots. Sounds to me like we will have an 'origin story' template of them being actual plumbers, being transported to the Mushroom Kingdom, meeting Peach, Bowser, etc. I like it!
Sabastian is hilarious!! And as an Italian-American I support this!! Fingers crossed that the movie won't suck. This is a good sign.
If Foreman Spike manages to come back in recent Mario games, hire him to do his voice.
Wake me up when they release Super Mario Bros. The Movie: The Game.
@Paulo I was thinking the same thing, I forgot about Foreman Spike in Wreckin' Crew so my mind went to Spike and Iggy from the Super Koopa Cousins. Actually kind of hope they drop one or two small digs on the original 93' movie.
Woah, what a way to bring back Foreman Spike. That guy sounds like he could be Spike too, haha.
He may as well be referring to the Spike from the 1993 Mario movie, though.
Weird.
That’s all.
I think It makes sense. The story might start with the older games AND mover toward the now Classic plot. And characters like Spike are meant to be recognized by the more hardcore crowd and say "Ah, I got it". Same thing if we see someone named Stanley using bug spray.
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Imagine if it was Spike from the live action SMB movie.
Okay was not expecting this would be revisiting the Mario bros from Brooklyn stuff
I thought the franchise had fully divorced itself from that with the whole Mario and Luigi was delivered by Stork in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Um...what? Is this gonna be based in the real world, as when Mario and Luigi are plumbers? That would actually be interesting if it was some kind of orgin story for the brothers.
Hope it turns out good. I'd love to listen Mario's broken English for over an hour.
Wow. Ok so there's Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew of ALL characters to make an appearance-- THIS is major as it seems to point to this being an origin story of the Super Mario Bros. I don't think they will go the route of the "Brooklyn" canon shared by the American cartoons and the live SMB movie, but I do think they will try to tie the DK, WC, MB, and ultimately the SMB worlds all into one (Super Mario Odyssey essentially confirmed this congruence). Now I'm really interested as it doesn't seem to just be the ol' Mario/Peach/Bowser party.
I'm personally not happy about this reveal. It just seems uninspired and dumb. 🤷🏻♂️
@MeloMan, I think that you don't know what you're talking about.
This can only mean.. Super Mario Odyssey 2 releasing in 2022 confirmed.
No arguing! Confirmed I say!
Earliest Mario canon is Donkey Kong (1981) > Donkey Kong Jr. (1982) > Mario Bros. (1983) > Wrecking Crew (1984) > Super Mario Bros. (1985). Even as early as that, there we're spin-offs like Mario's Cement Factory (Game&Watch) and Pinball (which featured Mario and Pauline) and obviously Donkey Kong 3 (1983) and Donkey Kong Jr. Math (1983).
It's a shame that Foreman Spike was in relatively unknown games. The original classics Wrecking Crew (NES) and Vs. Wrecking Crew (Arcade) are the only games available on Switch, while Wrecking Crew '98 (SNES) and Mobile Golf (GBC) are pretty obscure Japan only games that were never released in the West.
Mobile Golf is made by Camelot, the same company that makes Mario Golf. In fact Mobile Golf features Mario, Yoshi, Peach, and many other Mario Golf characters as playable golfers. Why this wasn't called Mario Golf is a mystery. Foreman Spike is the WTF not-expected retro newcomer in that game. And unfortunately he never returned to Mario Golf. Instead he appeared as an unlockable costume in Super Mario Maker (Wii U), and is in the Wrecking Crew micro challenges of NES Remix (Wii U) and WarioWare Gold (3DS).
He's one of the forgotten Nintendo retro characters, like Stanley from Donkey Kong 3 and the Mach Rider.
If the movie really goes back to the origins of Mario (1981-1984) before he became Super Mario (and rescued Peach from Bowser) with little nods and lore like Foreman Spike then the director has done his homework.
Actor and comedian Sebastian Maniscalco will be playing Foreman Spike, HELL YEAH! Probably my favorite obscure Mario character (usually Wart and even Tatanga get more love in comparison). Of course, he didn't explicitly say "Foreman Spike", he just said "Spike, their [the Mario brothers] boss", which honestly fits Foreman Spike's description better than any other "Spike" in the Mario franchise. Either way, I hope that in the movie proper, he's portrayed with a beard like in the first Wrecking Crew and Mobile Golf, as opposed to Wrecking Crew '98, where he just looks like a buff Waluigi.
This could be fun
I really hope Nintendo didn't put resource into stuff like this instead of an Odyssey 2 or other proper first party games.
I'd bet that the story lines of Mario games are only of passing interest at best for most people. Personally I tend to fast scroll through the dialogue in Mario games to get to the gameplay.
But who's playing Mario? I heard that it wasn't going to be Martinette 🤨😕
That...is an obscure character even by obscure standards.
@ryu_san Haha! Though I’d bet half my chip stack that Princess Peach is gonna be radically different in this upcoming movie, compared to how we know her generally. Especially if this movie’s source material is what I think it is.
For a moment there I thought it was going to be Elon Musk as Wario.
@Vertpin wahoo.
@Vertpin wahoo! Yes indeed...
@DK-Fan even though Miyamoto is on board to keep the Mario touch?
@EriXz not sure! He might.
Ok personally I hope for a trailer launching soon (September or otherwise December)
@reporterdavid i remember riding it here that someone ask him directly and he say no on had contacted him for the movie, can't find the article but I seem to remember just that
@EriXz Ah ok. Hmm. Yeah i know the video where he mentioned it. August 8 you could have talked with him in a online meeting. But I think he 1 may not say it or 2 wasn't approached yet ( but why wouldnt he? He is and was the voice of Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, (even Donkey Kong!) for about 30 years.
I don't want to confirm that Charles Martinet isn't in it. He said in a video that he has not been approached but I cannot imagine that he was not asked or not approached. Strange that another (side) character is mentioned by name but that the protagonist, who has been the voice of Mario for almost 30 years "hasn't even been approached yet". Either Charles isn't in it and doesn't say this, or he's in it and doesn't say it. We are now some time further. If this new character already has to be voiced, then the "new" voice of Mario (and Luigi etc) must also be approached. Oh yeah. And who does the voice of Luigi, Waluigi, Wario, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi? If Charles is not in it, at least 6 characters would have to be recast (7 if King Toadsworth is also in it). Another flop after 1993 would be that Mario's original voice would be cut out and replaced by a well-known Hollywood star. Would be a shame. But as a voice actor (recorded films myself) I know that this is not inconceivable in this world either. Unfortunately. Anyway. Let's go!
@reporterdavid I think it had to do more with the studio executives and how the industry works, having a big name to attract more people to the box Office
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