Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario for 27 years, will no longer be voicing the iconic character, according to a tweet from Nintendo. Martinet took on the role with 1996’s Super Mario 64 and has voiced the character in numerous games since, including both mainline Mario releases like Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Galaxy as well as countless spinoffs.
“Charles is now moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador. With this new transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games,” Nintendo’s statement reads. “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.”
Though a fixture in video game history, Martinet was missed as the voice of Mario in the billon-dollar grossing Super Mario Bros. Movie that was released earlier this year. There was also speculation that Martinet was not the voice of Mario in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder, due out October 20th. Nintendo has not yet confirmed if Super Mario Bros. Wonder would be Martinet’s last time as gaming’s most famous plumber.
