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Chris Pratt to voice Garfield, furious fans say 'Nick Offerman WAS right there'

'Parks and Rec' actor and voice of Mario announced as the voice of Garfield in upcoming animation film, but fans want co-star Offerman instead

Chris Pratt appears to be a very busy man these days. After wrapping up a career-defying role in the 'Avengers' franchise, he's now back to playing Star-Lord in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Along with that, he'll also voice Mario in a new film about the beloved game character, but it's not his only upcoming project. On November 1, Pratt was announced as the voice of the lasagna-loving Garfield, in an upcoming animated film.

From the beloved comedy star of 'Parks and Rec', Pratt has turned himself into a major action star with roles in 'Jurassic World', the Marvel films, and 'The Tomorrow War'. It helps that he shed a massive 60 pounds in six months to play Peter Quill. While he may not be playing Indiana Jones anytime soon, he's clearly got enough roles to keep himself busy. Pratt nearly broke the internet a few months ago when he was announced as the voice of Mario, but this time it appears fans are less pleased with the casting.

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Shortly after Pratt was announced as the voice of Garfield, actor and comedian Nick Offerman began trending on Twitter. While the higher-ups at Sony may have thought Pratt was the ideal voice, it's clear social media has a different view.

Chris Pratt is Garfield

On November 1, details for the new film, currently titled 'Garfield' were released. The film is being produced by Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson’s Alcon Entertainment, which backed previous hits like '12 Strong' and 'Blade Runner 2049'. It will be distributed by Sony Pictures worldwide (excluding China). Mark Dindal, the man behind 'Chicken Little' and 'Cats Don't Dance' is directing the film based on the script by Oscar nominee David Reynolds ('Finding Nemo'). 

The film will also benefit from the presence of Garfield creator Jim Davis, who has been roped in as Executive Producer. So far, only Pratt's casting has been announced for the film, which doesn't have a release date yet. The last person to voice the beloved cat on the big screen was Bill Murray in 2004's 'Garfield' and 2006's 'Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties'. With such a hugely talented crew, and worldwide following, expectations are certainly high for the new film, but clearly, not everyone is happy.

Pratt's announcement was met with a lot of backlash, as furious Twitter users campaigned for Offerman to take on the role instead. Here's just a small sample of what people are saying online.

'Remember what they took from you'

"Oh come ON Nick Offerman WAS right there! (now I really do hate Mondays)," one person tweeted. Another said, "My hot take is that @Nick_Offerman should’ve been Garfield." Another clearly furious fan tweeted, "Like… if you absolutely HAD to go with a Parks and Rec cast member Nick Offerman is RIGHT F-----G THERE."

One person tweeted, "Parks and Rec actor as Garfield voices, ranked: 1. Nick Offerman 2. Aubrey Plaza 3. Jim O'Heir . .. ... Somewhere near the bottom: Chris Pratt." One user commented, "They robbed us of Nick Offerman Garfield Remember what they took from you." Another said, "Do I even have to explain? Like, if we're going to have a celeb Garfield that's not Bill Murray, who embodies Garfield's deadpan energy better then Nick Offerman? Who's tf is casting Chris Pratt as all of these characters?"

Fan pressure has helped release the Snyder Cut, and redesign Sonic, so don't be surprised if there's a campaign to make Offerman Garfield. But for now, it looks like Pratt will indeed be voicing the beloved Monday-hating cat.