The iconic voice actor for Mario and other characters in the Super Mario franchise has officially stepped down, according to Nintendo. Charles Martinet has been the main voice actor for both Mario and Luigi since Super Mario 64 and has since voiced other iconic Mario characters including Wario, Walluigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and even Donkey Kong. Nintendo announced Martinet’s retirement on Twitter early Monday morning, sharing the news and offering a brief glimpse into Martinet’s future endeavors as Nintendo’s brand-new Mario Ambassador.
“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,” the tweet read. “With this transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games, but he’ll continue to travel the world sharing 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.”
Speculation on Martinet’s retirement began following the reveal of the upcoming Super Mario Bros: Wonder when fans noticed a difference in Mario’s voice within Wonder’s gameplay footage. That said, many fans are sad to see Martinet go with most paying tribute to his voice-acting career and wishing him well. Shortly after the announcement Martinet himself quote-tweeted the announcement, sharing his excitement for his future Mario Ambassador role.
“My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart!” wrote Martinet.
Nintendo fans can look forward to the upcoming special video message from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Martinet likely coming later today.