Remember back at the reveal of the final trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie when Shigeru Miyamoto appeared on screen to let us know that a real-life pair of Mario's boots was to be commissioned and put on display at the New York Nintendo Store? Kind of feels a bit like a dream now, huh?
Well, Nintendo and Illumination aren't giving this marketing tool the boot just yet, as the latest movie promo sees five-time NBA All-Star Klay Thompson take to the court in (you guessed it) Mario's shoes.
The Golden State Warriors' starting shooting guard (widely regarded as one of the greatest three-point shooters to ever play the game) can here be seen springing through a casual training session accompanied by all of the jump noises that you would expect to hear in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Should all NBA broadcasts be accompanied by such sound effects from now on? We're leaning towards yes. Should you ever attempt to play basketball in a pair of large leather shoes with no ankle support? Please no — then again, it never did the man himself any harm in Mario Slam Basketball nor Mario Sports Mix we suppose.
We won't lie, prior to this marketing, our thoughts on Mario's appearance had mainly circulated around the hat, moustache and dungarees, so why the movie seems so boot-obsessed is a little beyond us. Perhaps all will become clear when the film releases next week.