It’s hard to believe, but it looks like the voice of Mario in video games will soon be a bit different. Taking to Twitter today, Nintendo has revealed that the actor who was responsible for Mario’s voice for decades now is stepping back. From now on, it looks like Charles Martinet will not be the voice of Mario. However, it’s noted that Charles will be stepping into the role of Mario Ambassador. We’re not sure who will take the mantle in the future, but plenty of previous lines can likely be used in the meantime.
Mario doesn’t necessarily have too many lines spoken, but the phrases he utters are quite iconic. Over the years, Charles Martinet is the man who was responsible for giving Mario a voice to begin with. His credits for the iconic video game character go back to 1994 for Mario in the CD-ROM version of Mario Teaches Typing. But ever since then, you’ve heard Charles utter phrases for Mario in countless video games. Everything from mainline Mario titles to spin-offs was Charles.
The actor, now age 67, has continued to portray countless characters for video games, films, to television series. We’re not sure if the actor will be stepping back from additional projects or if this is just related to the character Mario. At any rate, we at least know that he is stepping back from recording character voices for Nintendo games right now. Being that he is now the Mario Ambassador, it will likely be that you’ll still see Charles associated with Mario for years to come.
Furthermore, in the tweet that was sent out today from Nintendo, it’s noted that a special video message will come out featuring both Shigeru Miyamoto and Charles Martinet. This is set to release at a future date, and that could also shed some light on what’s coming for the iconic character for future video game releases.
With that said, another Mario game is coming out into the marketplace in October. You can mark your calendars down for October 20, 2023, with the release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. This brand-new platform title will be released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. Included in the game, players will get to play as either Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Toad, or Yoshi as they go through several courses. Meanwhile, we know that there is a brand new power-up that will transform players into an elephant. How this bizarre new transformation will aid players in the game has yet to be unveiled.
