Charles Martinet is stepping down as voice of Mario

Nintendo has announced that the longtime voice actor of many iconic Mario characters is stepping back from the role. In a Tweet today, they made the announcement that Charles Martinet is instead moving into the role of “Mario Ambassador.”

Charles Martinet has been in the role of Mario since 1994’s CD-ROM version of Mario Teaches Typing. Beyond the red-shirted plumber, he also went on to voice just about every other male character in the Mushroom Kingdom, including Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi. However, the recent Super Mario Bros. Movie cast Chris Pratt in the role, and trailers for Super Mario Wonder had many people questioning if Martinet had been replaced. That’s still kind of up in the air.

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

The post made by Nintendo doesn’t address the reasons for Martinet stepping back. However, it says that he will continue to travel to promote the character. They plan to follow up with a video featuring Charles Martinet and Shigeru Miyamoto, which will hopefully provide more information.

It’s a bit of a curious thing. Mario hasn’t been the most vocal character, so it shouldn’t be that jarring to have another actor in the role. However, Martinet has been almost inseparable from the character for a long while now and had previously stated in 2021, “I want to voice Mario until I drop dead.” Really, I’m just hoping that agreeable circumstances led to him leaving the role.

I also hope Nintendo isn’t planning on taking Mario games into a more dialogue-reliant direction, but that’s a personal preference.

Nintendo did not state if Martinet will still be playing his roles in upcoming games, such as the Super Mario RPG remake or Super Mario Bros. Wonder. More information is forthcoming.