It could have been worse: The internet reactions to the movie version of Mario

The Mario movie is scheduled for a 2023 release, not much is currently known about the film apart from its cover image. While the movie will get its first trailer during the next Nintendo Direct, fans got a glimpse of the movie Mario in a leak.

A McDonald’s employee shared an image of the movie Mario on Discord and it was later posted on Twitter. What looked to be a quickly snapped picture of the plumber started multiple debates on the internet as fans were quick to notice that the movie Mario looked off.

It’s Mario, but also not

Despite staying true to the character’s roots, the movie Mario has a smaller nose, a more detailed outfit, a brown beard, smaller eyes, and looks in better shape. The details can easily be missed by casual viewers and fans who’ve only played one or two Mario games, but the hardcore fans of the franchise weren’t fooled.

It could have been worse

While most fans were questioning the artistic choices of Mario’s model, there were also others who thought it could have been much worse. It isn’t unusual for production companies to change the core characteristics of a character based on animators’ choices. There was also a chance that fans could be greeted by a Mario who looked like he was from another dimension, but that won’t be the case.

Improved graphics, when?

Each Mario-related announcement often comes with a cover image that features stunning graphics. That was also the case with the Mario movie announcement. The image for the film featured a colorful world and the Mario in the leak looked faded at best.

The McDonald’s employee steals the show

Nintendo has been on point when it comes to promoting and building the hype levels around the Mario movie. With the first trailer scheduled to release during the next Nintendo Direct, the Mario movie was shaping up to be one of the most high-anticipated video game movies—until a leak surfaced.

To fully describe the situation, a fan posted a scene from The Boys where one of the main characters is about to introduce the winner of a competition, the hero in the white, but unexpectedly pivots to welcome a former member back to his team.

A fan-made fix

There’s still a chance that the leaked Mario image may not be the final version of the plumber. Fans may still see a different version of him in the movie, but that’s not guaranteed. Instead of waiting, a fan took the matters into their own hands and made Mario’s hands bigger while improving the colors, and changing the eyes.

These small changes instantly made Mario look better, showcasing that there could also be a small case of misperception going on.