The Super Mario Galaxy Movie actor Charlie Day has namechecked Luigi Mangione as one of his favorite Luigis, in an interview that has quickly gone viral and will likely cause a few upended tea tables within Nintendo.
Day, best known for his starring role in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, referenced Mangione, the suspect currently on trial for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, when asked to name his favorite Luigi in “recent American history.”
It was, of course, a question specifically designed to get Day to mention Mangione — something Day and his fellow castmates sat beside him seemed to understand immediately. As Day stammer, Keegan-Michael Key screams with laughter in a manner not unlike his own character of Toad, while Princess Peach actress Anya Taylor-Joy does a facepalm.
this is sending me so bad😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/99YTiMoSie
— ً (@bloodanya) April 1, 2026
“I have a question for you Charlie — you play Luigi, a great Italian guy,” the interviewer says. “Who’s your favorite Luigi in recent American history?”
“In recent American history?!” Day responds, clearly aware of what he’s being asked to reference. “Ah, well, me first of all, number one” he responds, “Luigi Mangione, number two.”
As Day’s castmates laugh, another interviewer thanks Day for his answer, and says that Mangione was the answer they “had wanted, thank you.”
Mangione is the only suspect in one of the country’s most high-profile murders in recent years, and will face a jury trial currently set to take place this fall. Thompson was gunned down in New York City back in December 2024, prompting a major manhunt for his killer. Mangione’s eventual arrest several days later was the subject of frenzied media coverage, and significant commentary online focused on his young age and appearance. In the months since, Mangione has generated signficiant support online, with memes frequently linking him with Nintendo’s own Luigi.
In a separate interview earlier this week, Bowser voice actor Jack Black suggested the third Super Mario Movie will arrive in 2029, in another moment that will likely have raised eyebrows within Nintendo. That date would likely mean there will be a big Nintendo movie in theaters every year for the remainder of the decade. Next year will see the launch of Nintendo’s live-action The Legend of Zelda movie, currently set to debut on May 7, 2027. Then there’s that leaked Donkey Kong spinoff, which would make sense to arrive in 2028 following a two-year break for Nintendo’s big screen animated adventures — and as a lead-up to the third Super Mario Movie.
“While it loses points for not engaging in a strong emotional core like its predecessor, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie racks up some extra lives by stuffing Easter eggs into the runtime to the point of bursting,” we wrote in IGN’s Super Mario Galaxy Movie review, awarding the film a 6/10 score. “It’s fun seeing all that stuff on screen, but without some kind of relatable story thriving underneath those references, it’s not as effective as it could be.”
Image credit: Seth Wenig-Pool/Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
