Pedro Pascal and HBO get a taste for video games with a new adaptation: Mario Kart

Following the success of HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us, the company's executives were quick to announce their new project to turn an iconic video game into "a prestige dystopian drama" that also brings back the thriving figure of Pedro Pascal as the protagonist. Before Illumination's release of the real Super Mario Bros. movie arrives, the Chilean actor will play a Mario tormented by his past in the series that will bring all the rawness of the Mario Kart universe to the real world.

It's a-me, Mario

On a mission to lead an ancient princess through the perilous Rainbow Road, Mario will face his demons as he gets back behind the wheel of his go-kart to face the perils of the fallen Mushroom Kingdom. He is joined on his journey by a cast of "complex, dramatic HBO characters" such as Yoshi, who openly declares his bisexuality, or Toad, who is "bisexual, too". Critics, however, seem less than convinced, with Variety claiming that "HBO picked the wrong game for this" and The New Yor Times considering “This Ain’t It,” something the public will have to decide with its sovereign vote.

Of course, this is all sketch comedy at the hands of the latest Saturday Night Life, which had Pedro Pascal as a guest host. Certainly, the show has outdone itself in terms of production values, presenting a whole recital of special effects and CGI to form a hilarious parody of what this post-apocalyptic universe would be like in the hands of the "master storytellers" of Mario Kart 1 through Mario Kart 8. Unfortunately, we'll have to settle for seeing Pedro Pascal in his role as Joel in The Last of Us every Sunday night until mid-March and wait for the Super Mario Bros. movie, which will be released on April 7th.