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Little Leading Man

August 27, 2002 › Sandy McMurray | comment

He's a dynamic hero, a man in blue - a smooth cat with a red hat. Since his first appearance in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, his heroic antics have made him one of the largest leading men in the world.

This Nintendo press release goes on to say that Mario video games have earned US$7 billion in revenue -- more than the $5.6 billion Hollywood made from Harrison Ford's films.

George Lucas responded immediately, announcing plans to go back and digitally tinker with the first three Star Wars movies. Lucas hopes that future DVD re-re-re-releases with Mario as Han Solo will sell better than the current re-re-release of the original movies. If all goes well, he may replace Jar-Jar Binks with Yoshi.

Ford, through his agent, said that he wasn't bitter, and looked forward to Mario remakes of What Lies Beneath, Blade Runner, Witness, the Indiana Jones trilogy, Mosquito Coast and, of course, Frantic.

The reason for this release, of course, is today's introduction of Super Mario Sunshine for Nintendo GameCube (suggested retail: $69.95). It looks like fun.

August 27, 2002 › Sandy McMurray | comment on this item