Nintendo of America has officially announced that Charles Martinet will be formally stepping down from the role of Mario. They also confirmed that he would no longer be voicing Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and several more Mario characters. He will continue as a Mario Ambassador that spreads the joy of the character worldwide.
Charles Martinet has been the voice of Mario since Super Mario 64, initially released in 1996. Since then, he has appeared in mainline Mario games and spin-offs. He even appeared as a cameo in the recent Super Mario Bros. Movie. Nintendo released more information that hinted at the future of the character.
Charles Martinet Steps Down as Mario
In a tweet, Nintendo of America stated the following:
“Charles Martinet has been the original voice of Mario in Nintendo games for a long time, as far back as Super Mario 64. Charles is now moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador. With this transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games, but he’ll continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all!
It has been an honor working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him. Please keep an eye out for a special video message from Shigeru Miyamoto and Charles himself, which we will post at a future date.”
The announcement comes a few months after the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where Chris Pratt and Charlie Day depicted the titular characters. Additionally, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is set to release in a few months. It is implied that Martinet will not be voicing the main characters in the upcoming release. Nintendo will likely reveal more information on Mario’s future in the forthcoming video from both Shigeru Miyamoto and Charles Martinet.
Lastly, Super Mario Bros. Wonder will release on the Nintendo Switch on October 20, 2023. Stay tuned for more details on the upcoming release and voices soon.
