Nintendo reportedly was unhappy with the Wario-themed sketch in Elon Musk's Saturday Night Live appearance

Nintendo reportedly was unhappy with Elon Musk's 2021 Saturday Night Live sketch in which he played Wario.

Nintendo was reportedly unhappy with Elon Musk's 2021 Saturday Night Live plan to play Wario.

In 2021, Elon Musk starred in a Saturday Night Live sketch where he played Wario. Nintendo's villain stood trial accused of murdering everyone's favorite plumber, Mario. The plan was poorly received online and apparently by Nintendo itself. Kate Ellis and Krista Young, two former Nintendo PR executives, revealed in a recent episode of their YouTube show that the SNL plan "didn't go over well" with Nintendo at the time.

After a recent Saturday Night Live sketch where The Legend of Zelda protagonist Link and GTA 6's Jason Duvall went head-to-head over who would play better. The design largely pokes fun at The Legend of Zelda while trying to make GTA 6 seem like a "cooler" game, which itself led to mixed reactions online. Still, Ellis and Young think it probably went better than Musk's plan.

The two recalled that it was released on Nintendo, stating that it was "not lovable". Ellis went on to note that the plot was oddly timed, as there wasn't a single new Wario game or product when it happened. He went on to say that the plot is also "disturbing" for Nintendo, possibly hinting at some of the more risque jokes in the plot. The SNL crew joked about Mario taking cocaine, Luigi sleeping with Princess Peach, and a video of Luigi's censored penis was hilarious...

It's understandable that Nintendo wouldn't be thrilled with its family-friendly characters being portrayed as sexual perverts. SNL has parodied Nintendo several other times, including a sketch involving a dark and gritty version of Mario Kart heavily inspired by HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us.

Cade Onder is a freelancer for the IGN news team. He covers all things entertainment, including games, movies and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.