Star of one of 2026's biggest movies slammed over controversial Luigi Mangione comment

2026 is set to be a juggernaut at the box office, with December alone boasting Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday that are sure to blow Barbenheimer out of the water. The Devil Wears Prada 2, Toy Story 5, Supergirl, and The Odyssey are just some of those set to obliterate box office records, but before we get to these, the year has already gotten off to a flying start.

Despite controversy surrounding Scream 7, it's become the highest-grossing entry in the long-running horror franchise. Pixar looks like it's back on top form with Hoppers, and Wuthering Heights also scored big as it put a modern twist on a classic tale.

Away from China's Pegasus 3 sitting pretty at the top, MGM Amazon Studios has also celebrated great success with Project Hail Mary, and most recently, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie's box office projections are reaching for the stars.

It seems that film critics and audiences can't agree on the much-hyped gaming sequel to 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, with one especially scathing review comparing it unfavorably to all that AI slop that keeps clogging our feeds – we're looking at you, Fruit Love Island.

Now, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is grabbing headlines for a very different reason, and it's all to do with Luigi.

We don't mean Charlie Day's green overall-wearing plumber from the Nintendo games, but the 27-year-old Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Johnson.

Mangione is currently awaiting federal trial, with U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett granting him a brief delay from September to October. This isn't quite the 2027 delay his lawyers had argued for, claiming that back-to-back trials on a compressed schedule would be violating Mangione's constitutional rights.

While some have dubbed Mangione as 'Saint Luigi' and turned him into something of a political hero after the words 'deny', 'defend', and 'depose' were reportedly found on bullet casings at the scene, others remind us that he’s accused of murder.

This convolutedly ties to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie when Day was asked who his favorite Luigi from recent history was. It seems that the reporter was angling for a specific response, but when sat alongside co-stars Keegan-Michael Key and Anna Taylor-Joy for an interview with the Tintoria podcast, Day said: "In recent American history. Well, me, first of all. Number one."

With laughs from himself, Key, and Taylor-Joy, Day continued: "Uh, Luigi Mangione…Luigi Mangione number two."

The reporters also laughed along and said, "That's it, that's all we want," suggesting that they knew this was the answer they'd get.

Although Mangione won't face the death penalty, there are still multiple federal and state charges levied against him, plus the very serious fact that Johnson was shot dead in December 2024.

With this, there's been immediate backlash against Day, with some claiming they'll boycott The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Responding to the news, one critic wrote: "Well I’m not watching and boycotting the movie now … why are celebrities such out of touch pieces of sh*t?"

Another complained: "Oh look, a good reason not to see the movie. What a POS."

A third added: "Wow. What the f**k dude? Boycott the Mario movie. F**k you."

Others clocked on to what happened, with a third concluding: "What a stupid question from the interviewer.

“Setting him up to say some crap that will be clipped and shared for views. Interviewer probably doesn't give a rat's a** about the Mario franchise and their main goal is to get clicks."

While it's obvious that Day was joking instead of glamorizing the allegations made against Mangione, it didn't land for many, with some claiming that Nintendo will recast Luigi ahead of the inevitable sequel.