Nintendo today dropped the bombshell that Mario’s legendary voice actor Charles Martinet will be ‘stepping back’ from the iconic role. There are no details as of yet on what prompted Martinet to hang up the iconic red hat. However, Nintendo has promised that more information will be shared in a video message from Martinet and Nintendo Representative Director Shigeru Miyamoto.
Mario Voice Actor Charles Martinet ‘Stepping Back’
We have a message for fans of the Mushroom Kingdom. Please take a look. pic.twitter.com/PAabdS5rCk
— Nintendo UK (@NintendoUK) August 21, 2023
An official statement was written by Nintendo and published on the company’s X account. The statement revealed that Mario’s voice actor would seemingly not be recording dialogue for the character going forward. Instead, Martinet will be moving on to a new role as ‘Mario Ambassador’ which will see him continue to promote the games and interact with fans. The full statement is as follows:
“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.”
This news is sure to come as a blow for Mario fans, for many Martinet is simply incomparable. The writing may have been on the wall back in June with the trailer for Super Mario Bros. Wonder which featured a notably different shift in Mario’s voice. It’s likely the new voice actor will be revealed when Martinet and Miyamoto release their official statement.
Related: 5 Hidden Details in the Super Mario Bros. Wonder Trailer
Martinet’s most recent role was a cameo appearance as Mario and Luigi’s father, Giuseppe, in the Super Mario Bros. Movie. He also put in a villainous turn as the Red Ribbon Army leader Magenta in last year’s Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
