“It’s-a me, a-Mario!” — Well, soon it won’t be. Well, it will be, but a-Mario won’t be the legendary Charles Martinet in future games.
Charles Martinet, known as the voice of Mario for over 30 years now, will no longer be featuring in new games, in a surprise move to take a step back from the microphone.
Instead, a new actor will voice both Mario and Luigi for Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
Nintendo has confirmed Martinet will not be recording any new voicework as Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi or any other notable characters in the franchise going forward.
The voice actor first debuted as Mario in Super Mario 64, but the good news is that he’s transitioning to the role of Mario Ambassador – a title created specifically for him by Nintendo.
Before we go any further, let’s just take a couple of minutes to enjoy that voice and witness the legend himself.
According to a spokesperson for Nintendo:
While Charles is not involved in the game, we’re excited to honour his legacy and contributions, including looking ahead to what he’ll be doing as a Mario Ambassador… 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.
So, what does a Mario Ambassador do when he’s on the job? We can only speculate, but it might involve attending conventions and promoting Mario games, merchandise and movies.
Still, for many fans, Martinet is Mario, and his voice will be missed in the upcoming game – and whoever replaces him will have big shoes to fill. After all, nobody likes change.
We here at Geek Native wish both actors the best of luck going forward!
You can pre-order Super Mario Bros. Wonder for Nintendo Switch via the official Nintendo store now!
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