i think it goes like this. in ye olde days you could just create a movie star, right? at some point someone can have a drunk bet and create a box office hit out of steven seagal. and then milk them for half a dozen movies straight. nowadays there are no real movie stars. everything is down to viral marketing, inertia, and milking old IPs. this isn't really a serious project, there's zero chance anybody really believes in The Mario Movie because if they did they wouldn't have hired illumination to make it. so you gotta do the laziest thing and put a former MCU actor in the lead role. this is a direct to VHS movie with way too much money to burn.