'Super Mario Bros' Star Charlie Day Just Made A Seriously Dark Joke About Luigi—And Fans Are Stunned

On paper, it’s a softball setup: You voice Luigi. You’re asked about Luigi. You say Luigi.

But Charlie Day… did not do that.

Instead, the Super Mario Bros actor took a bizarrely phrased question and turned it into something darker than anyone in the room or watching online was prepared for. And now, his offhand answer is doing laps across the internet.

Day, who voices the famously anxious Italian plumber in the animated film series, was asked about his favorite Luigi during an interview posted Wednesday by the Tintoria podcast, a setup that sounded harmless enough.

The podcast host asked:

“I have a question for you, Charlie. You play Luigi, a great Italian guy… Who’s your favorite Luigi in recent American history?”

It’s the kind of oddly specific question that feels like it should have a safe, pre-packaged answer.

Day, caught slightly off guard, laughed and then seemed to lean in anyway:

“In recent American history?! Ah, well, me, first of all. Number one.”

A little self-promotion, a clean plug, no harm done. Nintendo and Universal executives everywhere can exhale. But Day wasn’t finished. Because when comedians are handed a setup like that, restraint is rarely the instinct.

The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star delivered the kind of unexpected punchline:

“Luigi Mangione, number two.”

Yes, folks, that Luigi Mangione.

And in case you were living under a rock: Day is referring to the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York sidewalk in December 2024, a case that has remained firmly in the public eye ever since.

So, dropping that name in the middle of a light promotional interview for a family-friendly animated film is… a choice. A bold one. Possibly an “HR would like a word” kind of choice.

You can watch the darkly humored clip below:

To be fair, Day didn’t pull the connection out of nowhere, even if he said the quiet part out loud. After Mangione’s arrest, the internet immediately blurred the line between real-world crime and video game logic. Then came the memes comparing the accused killer to Nintendo’s mustachioed plumber, spreading quickly, with the shared name doing most of the heavy lifting.

The crossover was surreal then—and somehow even more surreal now that it’s being referenced in official press cycles. One particularly chaotic moment came after a court appearance that same month, when Mangione was swarmed by reporters and onlookers.

A bystander shouted a line straight out of the Nintendo playbook:

“Hey, Luigi! It’s-a-me, Mario!”

You can watch that moment below:

If there was ever a sign that the internet had fully blurred the line between meme and reality, that was it. Which helps explain why Day’s remark hit the way it did. Online, the reaction was divided.

Some viewers applauded the dark humor, while others wondered how a Super Mario Bros press stop veered into true-crime-adjacent territory.

Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, is facing both state and federal trials for Thompson’s killing. His New York state trial is scheduled to begin September 8, while the federal case is set for October 5, with opening statements expected October 26.

A judge denied the defense’s request to delay proceedings to 2027 but adjusted the timeline to account for overlapping cases. Mangione remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as both sides prepare for what is expected to be a closely watched trial.

Meanwhile, Day remains firmly in lighter territory, at least professionally. He is set to voice a role in the upcoming animated film Wildwood and will return as Charlie Kelly in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is confirmed for Season 18 with production beginning in early 2026. And yes, he’ll continue voicing Luigi—the significantly less controversial one.

The next installment, Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026), sends Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi into space to rescue Princess Rosalina from Bowser Jr., who plans to power a universe-destroying cannon.

It follows the massive success of 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which earned $1.36 billion globally on a roughly $110 million budget—numbers that all but guarantee more Mario, more Luigi, and, ideally, fewer murder-adjacent punchlines on the press circuit. Ideally.