The producer of the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie has defended the casting of Chris Pratt as everyone’s favourite Italian plumber slash video game hero.

Chris Meledandri said that as an Italian American himself, he could understand concerns at 42-year-old Pratt - who is not from an Italian background - being cast as an Italian character.

He also said that while the Nintendo character’s heavily Italian accented catch phrase, “It’s-a-me, Mario!” will be addressed, it’s not how Pratt intends to voice the character.

Speaking to website TooFab, he explained: “We cover it in the movie. So you’ll see we definitely nod to that, but that’s not the tenor of the performance throughout the film.

“All I can tell you is the voice that he’s doing for us, and Mario, is phenomenal. Yeah, I can’t wait for people to hear it.”

The Super Mario Bros. movie is slated to be released in cinemas on December 21, 2022.