The beloved voice since 1996 of Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi in the famed Nintendo game franchise will now serve as an ambassador for the Mario character, with a replacement yet to be announced.
Charles Martinet, the voice behind Nintendo’s beloved Mario game character since Super Mario 64 (as well as Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi), has retired. Thankfully, he is not leaving the franchise completely.
“Charles is now moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador,” Nintendo said in a Twitter statement. “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.”
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
“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,” Nintendo’s statement continued. “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 was instrumental in making Mario the cherished character he is today with his joyous and immediately recognizable vocals. No word yet on who will fill his red and blue overalls, including what role actor Chris Pratt, who voiced Mario in Illumination’s recent hit feature, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, may play moving forward. Martinet voiced the role of Giuseppe, Mario and Luigi’s dad, in the movie.
Cybersecurity specialist by day, investigative journalist by night.
