Charles Martinet, the person behind Mario’s iconic voice (and Luigi’s), is officially stepping away from the role and wont’ be featured in this year’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Nintendo made the initial announcement in a post on social media which reveals that Martinet will now step into a brand-new role as Mario Ambassador.
The post reads:
“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.”
We have a message for fans of the Mushroom Kingdom. Please take a look. pic.twitter.com/U1ASicOuTO
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 21, 2023
Most fans first heard Martinet’s embodiment of the platforming plumber in Super Mario 64, but what would become the role of a lifetime is believed to have begun at trade shows where Nintendo was using digital puppeteering to create a 3D, interactive Mario display, followed by brief stints in Mario Teaches Typing and Mario’s Game Gallery.
As for who will be replacing Martinet as the voice of Mario in future titles, including in October’s release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a Nintendo spokesperson told Axios that, “Character voice actors will be credited in the game credits, so please wait for the game to be released.”
Nintendo and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto will apparently be releasing a separate video formally announcing this change in the near future.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder releases on October 20th exclusively for Nintendo Switch. Amazon has pre-orders of the game for $69 with free shipping.
