Elon Musk guest-hosted Saturday Night Live on May 8, 2021, and one recurring highlight from his episode was a sketch that cast him as Wario, the boisterous, money-obsessed foil from Nintendo’s Mario universe.
The sketch—a tongue-in-cheek courtroom farce set in the Mushroom Kingdom—was posted to SNL’s official YouTube channel and is presented with the program’s standard advisory for mature content.
In the sketch, Musk’s Wario presides over a trial in which Mario is accused of causing a fatal accident during a kart race.
Rewritten in straight, journalistic terms: the sketch depicts a chaotic courtroom scene centered on allegations that a karting incident resulted in Mario’s death, with Wario portrayed as a loud, avaricious figure stirring disorder among witnesses and spectators.
The sequence leans on broad parody and recognizable character traits rather than referencing any single Nintendo plotline.
Wario is a long-established character in Nintendo’s catalog.
He first appeared as the antagonist in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, released for the original Game Boy in 1992, and received his own starring platformer, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, in 1994.
Wario has since become a recurring figure across Nintendo spin-offs and party titles, including the Mario Kart franchise.
Wario has been a playable racer in Mario Kart entries since at least Mario Kart 64, released in 1996.
For modern Switch players, the Mario Kart series remains highly visible on Nintendo Switch with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which launched on Nintendo Switch on April 28, 2017.
Nintendo’s continued support for its legacy characters across hardware generations—from Game Boy to Nintendo Switch—helps explain why an SNL parody using Mario and Wario landed readily with mainstream audiences.
The Wario sketch and other highlights from Musk’s episode are available to view on SNL’s official YouTube channel.
Viewers should note the channel’s content rating: sketches are intended for adult audiences and may include language or themes unsuitable for younger viewers.
This SNL moment is an intersection of mainstream pop culture and video game iconography, underscoring how Nintendo’s characters continue to circulate in broader media nearly four decades after Mario’s debut in 1985.
The sketch—a tongue-in-cheek courtroom farce set in the Mushroom Kingdom—was posted to SNL’s official YouTube channel and is presented with the program’s standard advisory for mature content.
In the sketch, Musk’s Wario presides over a trial in which Mario is accused of causing a fatal accident during a kart race.
Rewritten in straight, journalistic terms: the sketch depicts a chaotic courtroom scene centered on allegations that a karting incident resulted in Mario’s death, with Wario portrayed as a loud, avaricious figure stirring disorder among witnesses and spectators.
The sequence leans on broad parody and recognizable character traits rather than referencing any single Nintendo plotline.
Wario is a long-established character in Nintendo’s catalog.
He first appeared as the antagonist in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, released for the original Game Boy in 1992, and received his own starring platformer, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, in 1994.
Wario has since become a recurring figure across Nintendo spin-offs and party titles, including the Mario Kart franchise.
Wario has been a playable racer in Mario Kart entries since at least Mario Kart 64, released in 1996.
For modern Switch players, the Mario Kart series remains highly visible on Nintendo Switch with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which launched on Nintendo Switch on April 28, 2017.
Nintendo’s continued support for its legacy characters across hardware generations—from Game Boy to Nintendo Switch—helps explain why an SNL parody using Mario and Wario landed readily with mainstream audiences.
The Wario sketch and other highlights from Musk’s episode are available to view on SNL’s official YouTube channel.
Viewers should note the channel’s content rating: sketches are intended for adult audiences and may include language or themes unsuitable for younger viewers.
This SNL moment is an intersection of mainstream pop culture and video game iconography, underscoring how Nintendo’s characters continue to circulate in broader media nearly four decades after Mario’s debut in 1985.
