Video game giant Nintendo has announced that Charles Martinet is no longer the English voice of the beloved video game and TV character Super Mario, after nearly 30 years.
The Japanese company took to social platform X (formerly Twitter) to share the news with fans where it mentioned that Martinet will now act as, ‘Mario Ambassador [and] 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
Martinet was recently replaced as the voice of Mario in the hugely successful Super Mario Bros. Movie, and some fans weren’t happy about it. Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt was picked to voice the character instead, while Martinet voiced other characters including Mario’s dad.
Nintendo’s message hints that Martinet has recorded his last lines as the other characters he voices in the Mushroom Kingdom which includes Luigi, Wario and Waluigi.
Who will voice Mario moving forward?
Nintendo is yet to announce Martinet’s successor or reveal what will likely be Martinet’s final performance as the voice of Mario. Speaking to Eurogamer, a Nintendo spokesperson said the decision to replace Martinet as the voice of Mario, “Was made after carefully considering a variety of factors”.
As for who will voice the character moving forward, Nintendo says, “Character voice actors for Mario and/or Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be credited in the game credits, so please wait for the game to be released.”
“Charles Martinet has been the original voice of Mario in Nintendo games for a long time, as far back as Super Mario 64,” Nintendo wrote. “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 honour 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,” said Nintendo.
Martinet has also shared Nintendo’s statement saying, “My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo !!!!!!!”
My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo !!!!!!! https://t.co/3YWYewlnXt
— Charles Martinet (@CharlesMartinet) August 21, 2023
Martinet’s replacement will be revealed with the release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder for Nintendo Switch on October 20th. What are the chances the replacement’s initials are the letters ‘A’ and ‘I’?
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
