Nintendo announce Charles Martinet will no longer voice iconic Mario character after 30 years

Nintendo have announced that Charles Martinet will no longer voice the English version of one of their most iconic characters. Martinet will step down as the voice of Italian plumber Mario after almost 30 years in the role.

The Japanese video game company announced the change on X, formerly known as Twitter, where they mentioned that Martinet will become a “Mario Ambassador” and “continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all!”

The full statement by Nintendo read: “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 will 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.”

Martinet also took to X to re-share the post, saying: “My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo !!!!!!!”

The voice actor was replaced in his iconic role as the voice of Mario in the recent Super Mario Bros. movie for Chris Pratt, much to the frustration of some fans. However, Martinet made his appearance in the movie as the voice of Mario and Luigi’s dad Guiseppe.

The statement released by Nintendo suggests that Martinet has now recorded his final voice overs for the company. The voice actor has played several iconic Mario characters over the years including, Luigi, Wario and Waluigi, as well as Mario himself.

Martinet first began his role at Nintendo in 1994, when he voiced several characters in the SNES game Super Punch-Out!!, with his first role of Mario coming later that year in Mario Teaches Typing.

The voice actor has become the voice of the iconic plumber for an entire generation, quickly becoming the de facto voice of Mario, including games such as Super Mario Odyssey and Mario Kart 8.

It is expected that Martinet’s last appearance could be Super Mario Bros. Wonder which is set to be released on October 20.

Nintendo is yet to announce which of the upcoming Mario projects will feature Martinet’s voice and are yet to name his successor.