Charles Martinet to be replaced as the voice of Mario
Last Updated on: 21st August 2023, 03:50 pm
When it comes to iconic and instantly recognizable voice actors in gaming, one name and character stands above all else, Charles Martinet and his portrayal of the legendary Super Mario.
But, that won’t be the case going forward as it has been announced that Martinet will be stepping down from voicing Mario.
No, I checked my calendar too and it isn’t April 1st, this is real.
Charles Martinet has voiced Mario in every game since 1996’s Super Mario 64, but a factoid you can impress your friends with is he first voiced the character in 1991’s Mario Teaches Typing. He would end up voicing the character in over 100 releases until the recent Super Mario Bros. Movie which was released earlier this year.
In an official statement, Nintendo confirmed that Charles would be stepping down from the role, but will remain part of the company going forward.
“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.”
Charles Martinet had previously stated in 2021 that he wanted to voice Mario until he “drops dead,” which makes the decision for him to step down now seem unusual. Martinet notably didn’t voice the character in the Super Mario Bros. Movie, which could have been a sign that he was looking to leave the role.
It has previously been confirmed that Charles Martinet did voice Mario in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which is due to be released on October 20, 2023, on the Nintendo Switch.
A rumored new 3D Mario game is coming in 2024, which could feature Charles Martinet’s final recordings as the plumber, but we will have to wait and see.
Who will replace the iconic voice actor going forward? Hopefully, it won’t be Chris Pratt.
