Regardless of how much you enjoyed the Super Mario Bros. Movie, odds are if you’re a big fan of the iconic plumber, the voice of Charles Martinet instantly reminds you of your childhood.
Having provided video game Mario’s dulcet tones since 1991, the actor has become a staple of gaming for many, hence the widespread concern when some of the characters he’s become known for didn’t sound to some fans like they were voiced by Martinet in June’s Nintendo Direct.
Now, however, Nintendo has officially announced that the actor will be stepping back from voicing Mario going forwards, instead taking on an ambassadorial role.
What do you think of Charles Martinet no longer voicing Mario?
In a tweet, the publisher stated:
“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’ll continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all!”
Nintendo added: “It has been an honour working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him,” before finishing by revealing that “a special video message” featuring Martinet and legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto will be shared “at a future date.”
Naturally, a huge amount of fans have responded to the announcement by wishing Martinet well and praising his work voicing Mario over the years, with several on ResetEra and Reddit acknowledging that his change in role signifies the “end of an era”.
“A new era of Mario begins. Thank you Mr Martinet for all those hours of joy you gave us. May you be happy in your future endeavours,” declared Reddit user TheSunshinator, adding a “Wa-hoo!”
That said, many haven’t been able to stop themselves from making jokes about Chris Pratt, who provided Mario’s voice in this year’s Super Mario Bros. Movie, being lined up as Martinet’s heir.
“Chris Pratt was THAT good, huh?” quipped ResetEra user Dust, while others posted a selection of pictures and gifs of the Parks and Rec star mocked up as Mario.
Naturally, because this is the internet, many of these posts have now been followed up by posts soberly stating that Pratt wasn’t actually being suggested as a likely candidate to voice video game Mario going forwards.
Regardless of what you think of Mario getting a new voice going forwards, make sure to follow us for updates on Nintendo games ranging from Mario titles to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
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