Nintendo has announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Charles Martinet, who has been the video game voice actor for Mario since 1991, is retiring. He will be stepping into a “new role” of Mario Ambassador.
Nintendo told io9 via email that Martinet is not involved in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the next video game in the Super Mario franchise, but that the company is “excited to honor his legacy and contributions,” in the future Martinet’s new position as Mario Ambassador. Martinet’s voice will appear in the upcoming HD re-release of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon on Nintendo Switch.
The full post reads:
Charles Martinent 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.
Martinet first began voicing Mario in Super Mario 64 and has been tapped for additional roles, including Wario and Waluigi. For years he has travelled the world alongside Nintendo in order to support various Super Mario releases, including to promote this year’s Super Mario Bros. Movie, which saw Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt portray the platforming plumber. In addition to Nintendo’s statement, Martinet also posted on X that he was embarking on a “new Adventure,” before characteristically adding “#woohoo !!!!!!!”
Nintendo said it had “nothing to announce” on the future of Mario’s voice, including on whether or not Pratt could potentially reprise his movie role in any games.
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