Summary
Charles Martinet, the longtime voice actor of Mario, will be stepping back from performing in futureSuper Mariogames as the titular character. For the last 30 or so years, Martinet’s performance has been the definitive version ofMario’s voice.
Martinet has voiced Mario ever since 1996, with his first performance as the iconic gaming hero beingSuper Mario 64. He has continued to do so for every major release and spin-off afterward, thoughChris Pratt was chosen as the voice of Mariofor the animated movie that released earlier in 2023. Nintendo has recently announced that Martinet will be stepping back from voicing the iconic character in its games.
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This announcement was posted on Nintendo’s Twitter, where it acknowledgedMartinet’s long career as the voice of Mario. It then revealed that Martinet will be moving into a new role as aSuper Mariobrand ambassador, which will mean he is stepping back from voicing the character full time. The tweet stated it was an honor working with Martinet for such a long time, and that a special video announcement that includes Martinet and Shigeru Miyamoto will be posted in the future.
This doesn’t mean he is stepping away from theSuper Mariofranchise forever, as Martinet will be traveling around the world and interacting with fans in this new role. The actor shared his own bittersweet message on Twitter, stating that everyone is “Numba One” in his heart. Many people who grew up with Martinet as the voice of Mario thanked him for his long tenure as the character’s voice, and hoped that he finds success in his new role.
Martinet once stated that he wanted to continue voicing the character for as long as he could, and if he wanted to stop, he’d help Nintendo in finding a successor. Some fans noticed thatMario’s voice in the upcomingSuper Mario Bros. Wondersounded a little different, with some wondering if that game will be the last they’ll hear of Martinet as Mario, or if it will be potentially the first to feature his successor. For now, this is the end of an era for longtime gamers, with many lamenting that they won’t get to hear Martinet voicing Mario in future games.
