Nintendo says Charles Martinet no longer video game voice of Mario
Charles Martinet, the exuberant voice of Mario, will no longer be the English voice actor behind Nintendo's most recognisable mascot, after almost 30 years in the job.
Nintendo announced the change in a statement posted today to X, formerly Twitter, which mentioned Martinet would now become a «Mario Ambassador» and «continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all!»
Martinet was replaced — to the disgruntlement of some fans — as the voice of Mario in the recent Super Mario Bros. Movie, with Hollywood hunk Chris Pratt taking the reins. Martinet was meanwhile given several other voice roles — including that of Mario's dad.
Nintendo's statement suggests Martinet has also recorded his final line as the other Mushroom Kingdom characters he voices, including Luigi, Wario and Waluigi.
Martinet's relationship with Nintendo began in 1994, when he voiced several roles in SNES game Super Punch-Out!!! His first lines as Mario came later the same year, in Mario Teaches Typing.
Since then, Martinet has become the de facto voice of Mario everywhere — at least, until Chris Pratt came along.
Nintendo is yet to state which of its various upcoming Mario projects will be Martinet's swansong, or name his successor.
«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. «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 honour working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we
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