Charles Martinet is "stepping back" as the voice of Mario after having voiced the mustached plumber since 1991. Nintendo confirmed the news with an announcement shared on Twitter earlier today.
While Martinet will no longer voice Mario going forward, he will continue to serve as a "Mario Ambassador." I can only assume that this means Martinet will now represent the Mushroom Kingdom on the global stage at the United Nations.
Nintendo's statement today also notes that fans can expect a special video message from Shigeru Miyamoto and Martinet to arrive at a later date.
Charles Martinet has been the original voice of Mario in Nintendo games for a long time, as far back as Super Mario 64," Nintendo wrote. "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!
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.​
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.​
Chris Pratt was unable to be reached for comment.