As part of the February 4, 2023 Pedro Pascal SNL episode, one trailer skit envisioned what a gritty, HBO show based on Mario Kart looked like. Pascal, who plays Joel in The Last of Us HBO adaptation, again played the lead role tasked with protecting a young woman in a post apocalyptic environment. Except for this “show,” he was Mario and needed to drive Peach to Rainbow Road.
Here’s the full SNL skit for the “HBO Mario Kart trailer. Pascal introduces himself with an “It’sa me, Mario.” Princess Peach ended up removed from her role when Bowser took over. “Mario” ends up taking her in a kart through the wasteland. Along the way, he stops at Luigi’s “haunted” mansion, they avoid a Goomba, and also work with Yoshi and Toad.
This is the second week in a row SNL aired a video game skit. During the Michael B. Jordan episode on January 28, 2023, there was a Street Fighter 6 one. That involved him and cast member Bowen Yang recording lines for Ryu and Ken.
The most recent mainline Mario Kart game is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch. The Last of Us season one is now airing on HBO.
