Mario voice actor Charles Martinet retiring from the character

21 August 2023 , 16:00

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Super Mario 64 was Charles Martinet's first appearance as the character in a Nintendo title (Image: Nintendo)

Nintendo has announced that Charles Martinet – who has voiced Mario in every game since 1996's Super Mario 64 – will be stepping back from the franchise.

Super Mario and Charles Martinet have been inseparable since he debuted as the character all the way back in 1991 through the Mario in Real Time (MIRT) system that was brought to a number of events by Nintendo. He then made his Nintendo game debut as the character in 1996's masterpiece Super Mario 64 (not counting a stint in interplay's Mario Teaches Typing in 1994) and remaining as the plumber all the way through to his latest adventure – Super Mario Odyssey. Fans were upset that the actor was replaced by Chris Pratt in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but it turns out the movie wasn't the only thing to worry about.

Nintendo took to Twitter to announce that after over 30 years of being the de-facto voice of Mario, Charles Martinet is stepping down from the role (as well as his roles as Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi), and will instead take on the role as 'Mario Ambassador' from here on out.

Fans had been speculating that Charles was being replaced as Mario back in June 2023 when the Super Mario Bros Wonder trailer first released, noting some differences in the voice performance in the trailer. While many dismissed these fears by claiming they were just new lines recorded by an older Martinet after years of Nintendo reusing soundbites, there clearly is some merit behind it. That being said, Nintendo hasn't announced whether Charles will be reprising his role in Super Mario Bros Wonder or not, so it'll remain a mystery until a more overt confirmation was made (perhaps during a video with Martinet and Shigeru Miyamoto which is set to be released in the near-future).

Thank you so much a-for-to playing my game

At the very least it seems like Nintendo and Martinet are on good terms as he becomes the 'Mario Ambassador', unlike some past high profile recastings of iconic characters. Such as David Hayter being replaced by Kiefer Sutherland in Metal Gear Solid without being told during the production of Metal Gear Solid 5.

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There's no character in the history of games that has a voice actor so heavily ingrained with them. The reason people were so against Chris Pratt as Mario when it was announced wasn't some tantrum about not liking change, Charles Martinet has been Mario since before many fans of the series were even born, so it's going to be extremely weird the first time we boot up a new Mario title and aren't greeted with that familiar voice. It's truly an end of an era.

Scott McCrae