Donald Glover 'campaigned' to voice Yoshi in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Donald Glover "campaigned for the role" of Yoshi in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, according to Jack Black.

The Solo star joins the animated movie franchise as the voice of the beloved green dinosaur in the upcoming sequel.

According to his co-star Black, Glover's agent called up Chris Meledandri, the CEO of the animation studio Illumination, and threw the star's hat into the ring to play Yoshi.

"It's kind of a cool thing. We got lucky that we got Brie (Larson), who crushes it and loves the Nintendo universe," Black told Extra. "And also Donald, who campaigned for the role. He told his agent, 'Call Chris Meledandri. Tell him I really want to be Yoshi, I'd love to be in the new Super Mario Bros. (Movie).' Because he loves it, and he loves that universe."

In a separate interview with his co-stars Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, Glover told Extra that he "started off a little timid" - much like his character in the movie - in the recording booth.

"I was like, 'OK, how am I gonna do this?' These guys did such a great job on the first one," he shared. "And that's a hard thing to do. It's a very iconic movie and character. I always believe in the idea of under-promising, over-delivering, and was like, 'I'll just study really hard, and hopefully I'll be beloved like them.'"

Alongside Glover as Yoshi, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie features newcomers including Brie Larson as Princess Rosalina, Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr. and Glen Powell as Fox McCloud.

They join returning cast members such as Black as Bowser, Pratt as Mario, Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the sequel to 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, will be released in cinemas on 1 April.