Charles Martinet Will No Longer Be The Voice Of Mario

Tomorrow: Announcement that Chris Pratt will voice the next 10 years of Mario games.

I suppose he couldn’t do it forever, but this is such sad news. Thank you for the years of service to the Nintendo community, Charles! You’ll be missed ❤️❤️

@ketrac And Mario will forever sound like Linda Belcher.

I know he's getting on, and I know he probably wasn't going to voice Mario for the rest of his life, but... Mario's voice is Charles Martinet's voice. Their voices are one and the same.

Nintendo is probably going to use A.I. now, and this makes me sad.

And the Chris Pratt era of Mario begins...

So that would make sense with people assuming it wasn’t his voice in Super Mario Wonder! What a legend that man is though! He really is Super

Question : How do you feel about this news?

Me : Not surprised. Eventually we will have to ready to prepare our heart to accept different voice actors. Peoples will not living forever.

Question : Will you miss Martinet as the voice of Mario?

Me : No. I prefer Chris Pratt voice as Mario. His voice as Mario just right for me.
The reason I said No because I'm already tired with same Charles Martinet's voice over and over again.
Chris Pratt voice as Mario sounds very brotherly in my opinion.

Huge news!
Charles has been the voice of Mario my whole gaming life.

I'm not against the move per say, better to do it as part of a wider refresh of the series than time forcing their hand.

Maybe there will be an increase in VA across the series as a result.

"made his debut as the plumber back when Super Mario 64 launched" eh wasn't he in Mario Teaches Typing back before that.

Going miss him either way, end of an era.

Chris Pratt is not going to be wahooing all over the Mario games haha… right?

Right???

The end of an era. Honestly thought he'd be doing it as long as possible.

End of a huge chapter for the mario series. Sad to see such a legendary and charming voice actor go, but wish him luck for the future.

I feel sorry for whoever has to replace him. They have one hell of a legacy to match with.

It makes total sense. Instead of spending a couple of days in a recording studio per year with all that dialogue, why not just send him all over the world instead, which would take less time.

In all seriousness, maybe the next Mario game is to get voice acting, which would explain why a change is needed.

I doubt I'll ever see any of Charles Martinet successor's exceeding him. As I view him as Mario's "Definitive" voice actor.

Gotta wait & see how this will affect future games going forward. This news will take me a LOOOOOOOONG...time to get used to & accept. But that's how the cookie crumbles...I guess.

So the therories were correct?

Good to know he's not completely gone, but still.....

Mario Ambassador is the best job title ever

Thanks for the memories and good luck into the future. ❤️❤️

@CharlieGirl God, I bloody hope not! I've personally got no issues with AI voices being used for fan works like internet memes if the original actors are ok with it but if they were to try to replace Charles with an AI imitation in a commercial product I wouldn't buy another Mario game again.

Though I'd hope Nintendo would be smart enough to realise the backlash they'd get for doing that and just try and hold auditions for a replacement VA in the future.

@Luigi05 I think they've already found a replacement judging by the Super Mario Bros Wonder and Warioware Get Moving trailers. Mario sounds a little different.

I wonder if this implies going forward Mario will be speaking more, or at least different things- perhaps in a Mario movie style.

I really don’t see why Ninty would need to do this if the next Mario game was ‘yah/hah/woohoo/oh no/I got it/Mario time’ as usual.

It seems odd for Nintendo recognize his voice as only Mario’s, when he’s also retiring as Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi and occasionally other various roles.

Regardless, Charles has earned himself incredible fame for voicing all these characters. Wishing him the best retirement and I do hope Mario’s new actor can maintain the whimsy and enthusiasm that Charles brought to the series for the last 30 years.

Definitely not the news I was expecting to read today. All the respect for Paarthurnax. Charles' work has been invaluable.

Huge bummer but it is what it is. Very curious to see what he'll be doing going forward! Was lucky enough to meet him in person once and he's an absolute gem of a human being.

Thanks for the memories! End of an era.

I have met him once and he's the nicest person!

Why couldn’t this be click bait! I know he couldnt do it forever, I know this was going to happen one day, but it’s still makes me sad. thank you so much for playing Mario all these years.

It's a shame, for entire generations he is Mario's (and the others) voice.

That being said the man is 67 years old, and this is probably the better way of his time as our plumbers ends, I'm glad he's been given a new job around Mario. We've seen other VA's who made their characters legendary just tossed aside before.

Well done sir. You have served the character very well and have left a high benchmark for your successor.

It's a me mario!

I got the job, sorry charles.

So, Danny DeVito Mario when?

I hope they'll find a suitable replacement, but let's be honest, whoever they choose, they can never properly replace Charles.

Not to say that the new voice actor can't do a good job! It's just that Charles has become so iconic in the role that it's difficult to think someone else into the role.

I understood why Nintendo did it for the movie. You want to anchor a big name to the movie, so having Chris Pratt made sense. I accepted the decision and felt he did a decent job.

I would also fully understand if Charles voluntarily stepped down from the voice and I would respect his wishes.

BUT if Nintendo alone made this decision to move away from his voice work, I feel as though it is a betrayal of his fantastic work in the Mario universe! (Nintendo done f***ed up if this is the case.)

Thank you Charles for all that you have done and continue to do for Mario!

For all the doomsayers remember that Martinet has recorded like a bazillion lines.
It's not like Nintendo can't just keep using the same "wahoo"s and "here we go"s for the next several decades...

Voice actors get replaced all the time, but he was one of the longest.

So I applaud him for his role.

Something like this was sadly inevitable. Charles' work has really informed the characters and people's interpretations of them, I think. I only hope he continues to inform them, Charles is Mario, Luigi, Wario and Waluigi and whoever steps in to fill those roles will undoubtedly be aware of this.

Wonder won't have his voice, yet you guys insisted it was him.

I don't care. The voice of Mario is not significant in the games

End of an era right there.

I’m placing the full weight of my blame on Pratt.

I hope for Chris Diamantopoulos to take over. I believe he could do the role well.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IejJ-nnEQOI

Get this guy to replace him.

Very sad news, ..., However, personally, I already feared that it would happen sooner or later.
Despite many of us wanting Charles to be the voice of Mario forever; No one can forever be the actor or actress who represents a character loved by everyone, especially by life or events in this world; How many characters were left without their original voice, or more loved, just because their VA already could not continue in this world (or something not so sad as problems between the VA and the company) ...?

Of this, the positive side is that Charles will continue to be with Mario and Nintendo, in a new role, but he will continue.

There is no doubt that for everyone, or the vast majority, he will be the voice of Mario even after this, however, the opportunity must be given to those who follow in his footsteps, as I repeat again, this was inevitable sooner or later, the good thing is that it was not with something sadder as I mentioned paragraphs ago...

@mr_somewhere I can't imagine anyone else doing Waluigi. Hopefully they find a really, really...really good replacement. Definitely the end of an era 😮‍💨

Idk if everyone saying Chris Pratt will voice him are joking or not, but hiring an A-lister for every Mario game would be so insanely expensive, there's no way that would happen..

Wow...we all knew it would happen one day but yeah.
This man brought so much love, joy and passion to these characters and is partly what's made Mario so iconic over the last 30 years.
I'm happy that he's moved to this new role though and I wish him all the best for the future❤️

"Thank you so much for playing my game"
No...thank you!😄

Funny how he became a legend with a few Yippee’s and Wahoo’s

Aww
I thought he would just do it till he no longer could manage it.

Very sad to see him go, but I’m also very grateful to him for his role in bringing Mario and friends to life for all of these years.

Truly the end of an era. This guy made SO many kid's childhood's an absolute blast and his voice is synonymous with Mario as a character. I wish him the absolute best in his future endeavours and this his successor's carry on his legacy.

I'm definitely gonna miss him, he is by far the most iconic voice of this whole medium. Whoever replaces him is gonna have to live up to some high expectations. Thank you for all the years of voicing some of my favorite characters Charles!

I doubt Charles' voice is going away any time soon, as Nintendo is probably going to use the archive voice clips along side the new voice actors' to help ease the transition. At the very least, Charles' is still around to help whomever is filling in his (multiple) shoes with their voices. He's been Mario's voice actor for over 30 years now, it's time for someone else to don the mustache.

Can't say I'm surprised since I know Charles is getting on in age and would eventually be replaced, but this is still sad news. This guy has voiced various Mario characters since the 90s and is VERY iconic. At least he gets a cool title for promoting Mario!

FUS RO DAH! Gonna miss you Paarthurnax.

I'm surprised they didn't make him say everything they might ever need, to the point where they could generate the sentences themselves.
Hopefully the next voice is good! But I remember him doing multiple voices for the series so he'll be hard to replace...

An end of an era indeed. Godspeed, man.

@Anti-Matter Yes, you are

Well this is a shocking wake up message.
Well... guess it’s an end of an era.
We’ll miss you Charles.

Makes sense. He's about 70 and has been doing this for nearly 30 years. Time to change it up a bit, both for the character and for himself. I'm sure whatever comes after will be fine.

Still, will take some getting used to, like when The Simpsons stopped using composer Alf Clausen after 27 seasons.

This was to be expected eventually but I was still hoping for a few more good years 😭 I'm nervous about who they're gonna choose as the new Mario & crew. I'm just really attached to the characters, okay?

I’m from an older generation that remembers Mario with a noo Yoik accent. Now, as weird as it was to hear him for the first time in Mario 64, I don’t think I can articulate how much those woo-hoos added to such a pivotal gaming moment. His voice brought as much joy to the character as I had plAying him. Will be missed and no easy feat for the next person to bring the character to life. X

Actual end of an era 😞.

@Nintyname

"In all seriousness, maybe the next Mario game is to get voice acting, which would explain why a change is needed."

just what the series needs ☠️

This is absolutely wild to hear. I'm shocked it's happening without some obvious reason. I get that the man is aging, but I figured Nintendo would reuse voice clips for as long as they possibly could before announcing something like this. And without knowing details on his personal life, it doesn't seem like he's already physically incapable, so I'm left wondering if this video with him and Miyamoto will give us any concrete explanation for this change.

I think it's unlikely Chris Pratt will replace him in the games. He'd be way too expensive, for one. They'll probably find someone else to do a close approximation of Charles Martinet like they do with other cartoon characters.

I was a little worried at first thinking it might have been an announcement that he had passed. While I'm relieved to hear he's ok, this is definitely the end of an era.

It will be interesting to see who else takes the reign for so many of his iconic voices

IMO theyve recorded enough Mamma mias and Ima tireds for the next 100 years of mario games, I'm not sure why a new actor is needed unless Martinet won't allow it or as the other user said, they are moving to expand to full voice actong for the series, which is about the most boneheaded thing they could do if you ask me. however i have no expectation that this isnt what's happening, goven Nintendo in this day and age, and the (ridiculous) success of the Mario Movie on the minds of investors 😞

So sad, an end of an era as I really cannot imagine these characters with any other voice! I hope he recorded for Wonder so we get one last game with him...

What an absolute megaton... end of an era. Very sad to see Mr. Martinet go, but that's life, people get older, things move on, I'm curious to see who the next voice of Mario & Co will be.

A big F in the chat, guys 😭 The new voice actor have some huge shoes to fill

My deepest gratitude towards Mr. Martinet for shaping Mario into the character that he is as well as my deepest sympathies for whomever has to fill his shoes going forward. Their gooses are gonna be cooked by the internet.

That’s quite a bombshell for a Monday afternoon. Martinet’s portrayal of Mario in 64 made the character feel as responsive, interactive and alive as the worlds he traversed. For every action taken by the player, Mario had a reaction, be it a wahoo or a mamma mia. Such an understated part of what made that game feel so revolutionary. The games didn’t just have newfound depth, so did the avatars.

I don't want to think about what's next, now I just want to say, and I think it's safe to say from all of us:

thank you for the tremendous effort of bringing one of the most iconinc characters in history to life. We had lots of fun together.

I still can't believe how Nintendo did him dirty by enrolling Chris Pratt (for budget reasons only because I can't imagine any other possibility)

I think its a way of getting rid of him without getting rid of him.

I'm not a fan, so don't really care what mario sounds like.

"Thank you so much a-for-to playing my game."

He will always be the Mario voice of my childhood. He really gave Mario life in Mario64 and beyond.

I'm looking forward to what Nintendo has planned for Mario. I think the movie was a great case for Nintendo to see if Mario with a different voice and way more lines to speak would be accepted by the audience. And with the enormous succes maybe they will go in the direction that Mario will be more voiced in future games.

My heart stopped as soon as I saw this. This is extremely sad news, but I wish Mr. Martinet luck in his future endeavors :,)

And here I thought fans were just being weird and over-analytical about that last Nintendo Direct. I guess it's rather poetic his last official media role (presumably) was on the big screen. Gonna hit a lot harder now to hear him say "Those are my boys!" at the end of the movie. He will be missed. Maybe the door will be left open for him voicing Mario in an animated series or something--that's be awesome. But if he were still doing voicework in a show, I don't know why he would step away from games.

Though it's sad to see him go, I think making this transition now while he's alive will make it a bit easier to swallow when he inevitably passes away. I don't want Nintendo to be in another Iwata situation where they're completely unprepared when an important figure dies. But I hope Charles will have many years of life ahead of him.

Anyways, uh... I think I do a pretty stellar Luigi impression, if I do say so myself. Where can I audition, Nintendo?

@EaglyBird Hey could you or one of the moderator team please remove your breaking bad gif. It's a nightmare for ppl with epilepsy. Thanks.

Very odd choice……

Super Mario 64 is the first game I ever played. Seeing that goofy Mario face appear and have such a playful voice meant a lot to me as a kid. Charles Martinet is Mario to me, and he will be missed.

@PinderSchloss in Luigi’s mansion 3 at the very beginning of you walk over to him he says, “hey bro”

@__jamiie

Italians are a race?

Yay! No more listening to his annoying voice! (Hopefully)

May this mean that Mario will either be quiet again, or they'll get someone who isn't grating.

@Roibeard64 I don't think so, but I could be wrong

That he didn't Mario's voice in the movie probably was a sign on the wall, though I can't imagine Chris Pratt to be doing it now from now on. Anyway, very sad news. He did a superb job and a new voice in the games might be something we have to get used to. Thank you very much Charles!

@Luigi05 Not really. Mario has had several voices over the decades.

I wish him the best of luck. He definitely earned his retirement. He will always be an icon for the franchise.
Oddly for me, though, he WASN'T the one who defined Mario's voice when I was growing up. When I think of Mario, I think of Lou Albano.

For me the sound of Mario's voice is iconic; and it's Charles' voice. But at the same time, it's sort of simple right? It's not like the voice of Mario has ever really had depth. Meaning, lot's of vocabulary or dialect. It's always been simple words or or the famous "it's me, Mario" phrase. Let's be honest, that sound can be replicated. It may sound sad, but I think Charles should feel lucky he's lasted this long and now has a cool position still at the company.

While he did a great voice for Mario, I'm not playing Mario games to hear Charles. As far as a new VA taking on the role, I am perfectly fine with it. He sounds just as good imo.

It's been some Super +30 years. Thanks for everything, Mr. Charles Martinet. Best of luck in all your future projects.

Was going to happen at some point. To be honest, I'm sure they have enough clips recorded that they don't ever need anything new. But I get the feeling they're moving into a different kind of Mario now. We'll probably have some actual dialogue scenes in the next game instead of the usual catchphrase based performance. As long as the games are great, I'm not worried.

An end of an era. Still, not a bad little gig getting to travel the world and promote Mario is it...

He brought such joy and continuity to Mario's games, for such a long time! My kids and I will miss all the wahoo's and yippee's and creative Italian-English, not to mention the Wario Bros dastardly call-outs!

Captain Lou and his paisanos gave a lot of personality to the Mario Bros on TV, but it was Charles who defined their voices in the games themselves.

Thank you for all the fun times, Charles, and best of luck as the inaugural Mario Ambassador!

This is sad to hear… Mario’s voice is iconic and I couldn’t imagine him with a different one (asides from Chris Pratt, that’s the movie only) but it was going to happen at one point. I’m glad Charles is still going to be with Nintendo though, not the hugest fan of Mario but I wonder where Nintendo is taking the series now. Thanks for the memories Charles!

@dkxcalibur I think also being the voice of Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi (along with plenty of other side characters) made him extremely valuable for Nintendo. It cannot be overlooked that he is professional voice actor who not only can create iconic voices, but convey so much even with so little. I've heard so many impressions of people going "It's-A me, Mario!" but I do not believe them. It's only been Martinet who could recite the line and have the essence of the character to make me believe that this is really Mario and not just someone doing a voice!

It'a a me Martinet!😋

We all knew this day would come eventually, but glad it's at least not on sad terms like other VAs who have to leave their roles due to drama or because they passed away. All in all, it's been a good run, and props to Charles for representing Mario for all these years.

Additionally, godspeed to the VA who's gonna have to fill those shoes.

Mario's peak in popularity was before Martinet came along, so I wouldn't worry about him stepping away.

Not to sound pessimistic or anything, but I kind of saw this coming, especially after hearing Wario's voice in the announcement trailer for the upcoming WarioWare: Move It!. I did hear from somewhere that Martinet would "continue to voice Mario until he drops dead" or something along those lines, but regardless I do wish the man all the best in the future and it's amazing how he's managed to stay the voice of a video game icon for 27 years, especially for my favorite video game series of all time.

That said, so as long as Nintendo can find someone else to pull off Mario's (as well as Luigi's, Wario's, and Waluigi's) voice decently, if not "perfectly", then I'll be okay with that. I didn't think Chris Pratt did Mario's voice justice in The Super Mario Bros Movie, but I'll still take it.

Man this is definitely is sad end of the era didn't want it to happen but eventually it happen thanks for all joy over the years of my childhood.

Now I'm wondering who will carry on the voice because wouldn't sound the same.

@ketrac We can only hope.

Thanks for everything, Charles! Your Mario voice will continue to trigger great memories forever.

I hope that Nintendo embrace this opportunity to add localized Mario voices for all countries now.

The voice was iconic. I thought that they just re-used lines from previous games. Or that they used some program to voice Mario in a certain way. Not like the game character talked a lot to begin with.

Whether you find the voice annoying or not, it’s hard to deny how iconic it is, it wasn’t the first voice for the character and it won’t be the last, but it’ll be the voice I think of when I think of Mario. (In the games anyway, there’s also the one from the cartoons)

I don’t understand why the article says it’s likely he’s doing the voice in Wonder when it’s what triggered all the speculation to begin with, people specifically laid out how this was going to happen such as Nintendo having compete control over the announcement with Martinet being quiet until then. They have to no reason to be announcing this now if it wasn’t affecting Wonder and Wario Ware.

I never really care about Mario's voice all that much as he mostly was a silent protagonist through and through in all the games but yeah thanks for the memories Martinet for been the chosen one this long in the series lifespan.

@Tempestryke he actually voiced mario twice before mario 64. Mario Teaches Typing and Mario's Game Gallery

But main mario games started with 64.

Wow! End of an era! I remember hearing Mario’s voice for the first time in Mario 64 and finding it ridiculous. It was way more high pitched than his cartoon voice for instance. Now I can’t imagine it any other way. Thank you Martinet for your great work over the years!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnXhhuWwlh5tLevcIhbAUq4Zv57ya6UZR

A little list of many voice clips from Mario in Many of his games

This was bound to happen one day. But maybe not that soon I mean, Martinet's voice archives will still be used right?
I know he won't be around forever, and that it's the best time to celebrate his accomplishments, but maybe he would have loved to keep voicing Mario until time said enough...
I hope his new voice sounds the most similar to him, for all the characters he voiced.

Hopefully this means they'll finally give Mario and Luigi new voice clips in the next Smash Bros. The dudes are in their 20's, but they sound like they're in their mid 40's and smoking half a carton a day, they sound so tired.

@Anti-Matter So what you hate him? I know people don't live forever but that includes you too. Personally, I would miss Charles voicing Mario in the games since I grew up with him during the N64 days. You will have to accept that not everybody is going to agree with you on your opinion and mine too.

I will miss hearing Charles' voice as Mario since I grew up with it since the N64 with Super Mario 64.

Charles MAR10-net leaves... hm. who will do LEGO Marios voice?

A new Mario, a new Luigi, a new Wario, a new Waluigi , a new Baby Mario , a new Baby Luigi might be sought for....

end of a era, who gonna be the new voice for Mario, Luigi, Wario e Waluigi?

@Tempestryke True. But not one as globally recognisable as Martinet's.

@__jamiie gotta agree with you on the racist angle. Like Mario and Luigi are almost inherently stereotypes, not particularly negative or offensive; but still, rude depictions of an entire nation full of people. Kinda glad the movie pulled back the voice angle, I never really had an issue with Martinet's performance, but it's hard to justify what is honestly not that different than stuff from early Speedy Gonzales cartoons or Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's in 2023. Also just gotta throw this out there, no clue why people are so attached to the guy that says "Wahoo". I'm not trying to be rude, I think Martinet is really talented, but his roles in Mario games are a massive waste of his skills as a voice actor, see Parthunax.

@Glrd No offense, but that would be a really dumb reason to never buy a Mario game again.

His Mario voice is one of the most iconic voices in gaming. He's been superb all these years, and I wish him all the best.

@ATHFjman18 The dude is almost 70 years old. How long do you think HE wants to do the voice?

Hard to be disappointed after so many years.

What Nintendo should do is just get someone to replicate the voice like Disney did with Wayne Allwine.

If they pull a Sonic and get a complete 180 voice it's gonna suck.

Sega was really dumb with this decision, acting like the character is getting older, and older.

@BAN. Clint Eastwood is like 92 years old and is still acting and directing. Age doesn’t matter if it’s something you enjoy since you don’t think of it as “work”. I mean he’s going to be doing this Mario Ambassador stuff, so I have no reason to think he’d want to do that work, yet stop doing voice work. But hey, who knows…I’m sure more details will come out later.

I knew it had to happen, but I really wish they would the Charles and Mario justice by announcing the new voice actor formally and the give them a proper welcome.

@PtM Nah I don't think that's it considering he made a great cameo in the movie and as seen in the Tweet, is still going to be involved as Mario Ambassador!

i'm delighted to have met him all those years ago but it's sad to see the legend go, let's hope the next person to take over does a good enough job to fit the role, good speed Charles 👍

you might not agree but Mario's voice is as iconic as Mario himself. How many times have you said out loud, "it's a me Mario" "Woohoo" "Let's a go" "Yippie" "Yahoo" "Here we go!!" "Mama Mia" and more!!!

This is sad news but it was inevitable. Charles will always be Mario and the others to me, thanks for contributing to so many amazing games over the years

Mario's voice is awesome. Thank you for all the hard work Mr. Martinet. Mario Ambassador sounds like a cool role.

Wish you the best of luck Mr. Martinet.

I'm at a loss for words right now. I'm still trying to process this information.

The Mario Brothers have been with me since my early childhood, and their happy-go-lucky attitudes and wacky adventures have gotten me through so many tough times. Luigi especially is one of my favourite protagonists in all of gaming, and one that I've always looked up to, even more so than Mario. My attachment to these characters goes beyond words like "personal", "emotional" or "sentimental". They have been with me since some of my earliest memories.

Charles Martinet IS Mario and Luigi. He IS Wario and Waluigi. To see him say goodbye to these roles is like saying goodbye to your godparents who have been with you since birth. I always knew this day would come, but I can't accept the fact that it's actually here.

I may be agnostic, but if there is a God, may he bless Charles Martinet's soul. And Charles, though you will in all likelihood never read this, I want to sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart for the countless memories and endless joy your performances have brought to myself and millions of others around the world. You are an icon, a living legend, and you will go down in history as THE voice of the most iconic duo (and their evil counterparts) to ever grace this planet.

Godspeed, Charles. May your jumps take you to ever greater heights.

@rushiosan To be fair, whoever it is sounds like a fine replacement. It definitely didn't quite sound identical Martinet, but it did sound pretty spot on to his late career work in the role as his voice became more high pitched.

@PtM It seemed like he was getting pretty burnt out from the role. Time is catching up, his voice is changing, and yet the Mario machine keeps chugging. He absolutely love it though and he's still an ambassador, but I think he knew when it was time to retire. At least this way he can advise his successor rather than keeping the role until his death. That could've made the search a new Mario a little harder on Nintendo and harder for the new actor to fill those massive brown work boots.

@ZimmerRemmiz Interestingly, I had two different Italian professors in college who told me that Italians don't even see Mario as Italian let alone an Italian stereotype because he's just so cartoony.

So Wonder will be his last game. It’s going to be weird hearing whoever replaces him.

@EaglyBird No worries thank you for understanding!

Thanks for the great memories over the years, Mr. Martinet.

They should go in a completely different direction and get Matt Berry to do the voice.

It's hard to say goodbye to someone who's been a part of your life for as long as you can remember. I really don't want anyone else to do his job. Mario has always felt like a timeless character, who can fit into any role and still be exactly who he's always been. I hope that remains true.

Personaly I like the guy alot, and im grateful for all he did, however, I can't but feel all that wahooos felt restraining of the whole Mario character.

Nintendo doesn't seem to like his character to have a voice but it seems they cannot hold progress anymore.
Good luck Mr. Martinet

This does upset me a little. Met him a few times. Full of energy

@AlanaHagues Might want to update the article; It's already been confirmed to Gamespot that Martinet will not be involved in Super Mario Wonder.

@Glrd Assuming he and his family continued getting payed royalties for his voice being used, what exactly would be the problem with an AI model? It wouldn't really be any different from reusing old clips or creating a phonetic library and manually reediting it into new dialogue.

A big Thank You to Charles for his years of entertainment! This is a sad day, but he's earned the rest.

@EriXz Welcome to Nintendo games, where a majority of their central characters (Mario, Link, Samus, Kirby, etc,) never speak full sentences. The person behind the voice has nothing to do with Nintendo's design choices. Mario is not going to suddenly be speaking full sentences.

"It's-a me! Someone else!"

Generically positive message about Charles Martinet and wishing him well. Make sure not to say anything bad about the great Chris Pratt. And my Nintendo Life comment is done.

I really thought they'd go the Darth Vader/James Earl Jones route and have his voice be done by AI in the future. Thanks for everything, Charles.

I knew this would happen but i don't like the timing,he's retiring now that the mainstream media probably thinks Chris Pratt is Mario's main va.

Nice PR move by Nintendo. Good job.

The original NintendoLife article was so smug in dismissing people who heard a difference in Wonder's voice-work.

I guess that just goes to show that, even if Martinet is not returning, they are continuing in his style, building on the sound he created. Keeping it similar. Hopefully that means, that this is his choice and he hasn't been pushed out.

Damn you Chris Pratt!!!!

That is very sad to hear although it had to be expected at some point…

Thank you Mr. Martinet! Without the heart and soul you have put into these characters the gaming world would not have been the same.

Nothing last forever-- Thank you
Mr. Martinet for your service as Mario and the gang. I salute you sir. Cheers!

Then, 2 months to know who is (or are) the new VA for Mario & Luigi...

and please, some of you already stop blaming Chris Pratt for this, he is not even responsible for the fact that they have chosen him as the voice of Mario in the movie, and I doubt very much that he is the one who replaces Charles;
In addition, this is how some of you will be "hostile" to receive the new VA that already premiered in the Mario Wonder trailer?; From what I see, well, I hear, he's doing a good job, although of course, it's just a trailer, there's more to see, but it looks like he's trying.

We have to give the opportunity, not criticize for criticizing and not criticize for nostalgia.

Pre-order cancelled! These are dark times 😢.

Oof. This hits right in the childhood. Everything I've ever heard or read about Charles Martinet has painted him as an exceptional human being. A hundred gratitudes for being the voice of gaming for so many for so long.

I'll never forget that one time Martinet himself voiced Mario in Spanish for the Mario Golf GBC commercial: https://youtu.be/5KLNDOfFbEM

He will be missed as Mario's voice.

The comment section reads as though he died. He's just moving on, and considering he's taken another 'new' position at Nintendo involving the character, I would assume it was amicable.
Yes, it's sad he's no longer the voice of Mario after almost 30 years, but maybe he just wanted to do something else. From everything I've seen of him, he is a very good person, seems to love the fans and interactions. I'm thinking (hoping), that tthis is what he wanted to do - continue being out there and interacting with fans. For all we know, he's just gotten his dream job. If that's the case, I wish him all the best and many thanks for being that iconic voice.

I don't envy the new person trying to fill those shoes, though.

Soul crushing. This guy has been so great and helped enhance so many experiences over the years. I knew it was bound to come, but I've always dreaded this moment.

I hope the guy realizes how appreciated he really is.

@sketchturner 😭

No doubt we will be seeing him regular. But still a shame.

@T317 I think he does!

He may no longer be Mario's VA, but WOW what a legacy he left behind!

That's sad and annoying news for me... This year became worse with every month...

This news broke my heart💔
I'll miss him

@Cotillion I think most people are just worried they'll try to use Chris Pratt.

@Custom1991
I don't hate Charles Martinet, but I'm already tired to hear the same Italian accent of Mario voice all the time.
I don't say his voice is bad but after I compared with Chris Pratt voice as Mario, I personally prefer Chris Pratt voice as Mario as it sounds natural and brotherly without that Italian accent from Charles Martinet voice.
Oh, also...
I grew up by PlayStation 1 & 2 during my teenhood in year 2000's and I didn't have any attachment with Charles Martinet voice until I got re-introducted about Nintendo again from Wii.
During my teenhood, I was busy with PS2 games, have ever knew about GameCube existence but have never played GameCube games since PS1 & PS2 were the only video game machines I could play at that time so I have no idea about Charles Martinet as Mario's voice.
As I grew up, I eventually got introduced by Charles Martinet voice as Mario from the machines I bought by myself like Wii, Wii U.
During that time I was neutral with Charles Martinet voice as I didn't grew up by N64 games so I didn't have that much hype with Mario's voice but as years goes by, I became bored with same Mario's voice all the time until Chris Pratt voice as Mario really changed my perspective as I prefer his natural voice without being forced talking with Italian accent all the time. I genuinely like Mario voice without that Italian accent, well... I grew up by different situation.
The reason I will not cry over his departure from Mario's voice because I didn't have attachment with Charles Martinet and to see Mario is always being assigned as silent character without talking in full sentences, compared with my short experience from Ratchet & Clank voice with James Arnold Taylor as Ratchet that speaking in full sentences, also I recognized his voice too from Tidus FF X, it gave me more impression than no talking character Mario.
I'm 3rd party gamer anyway.
I play more 3rd party games than 1st party Nintendo games since when I was young.
Sorry if I don't cry for Charles Martinet departure but I wished for the best of him after finding new roles.

Whelp, it happened. Guess that's why he wasn't Mario in the Mario movie.
Honestly, though? I care more about the gameplay than the VA, so not the biggest news.

This will definitely help save some bucks…also some growth from Mario. Pratt really showed the Big N that others can voice Mario and it would be just fine

Surely there’s enough “wa-hoo”s and “ya-ha”s in the recording vault now they could just reuse old recordings. It’s not like it’s much is a spoken part.

This is devastating. Couldn't they just record all his lines right now and reuse them for a few decades?

EDIT: What about Luigi, Waluigi, and Wario? They all have iconic voices also.

@JoeyTS i understand for your response that you have some insider information, right?

Thank you for sharing.

@LadyCharlie "but... Mario's voice is Charles Martinet's voice. Their voices are one and the same."

Ehhh, I mean maybe to Gen Z and mid- to late-millenials. But us Xennials/eighties kids will always hear Captain Lou Albano in our minds when we think of Mario.

(At least it isn't Bob Hoskin's voice.)

@EriXz I guess you could say that!

Forgot to add: I have no emotional ties to Mr. Charles Martinet's voice, but from what bits and pieces I have seen/heard/read from him, in interviews and youtube vids and the like, he has always seemed like a good dude and a genuinely kind, warm hearted guy. He seems to be a good enough person to have earned all of his success as well as his place in video game history, and so I'm glad that he got to enjoy a long career. To quote the legendary film classic Point Break: Vaya Con DIos.

@Anti-Matter OK. I still prefer him despite what you said about him.

@BuhBuhBuhBanned I'm literally in my late 30s.

While sad news, it was great having him voiced Mario. But from what I understand he voiced Mario way before Mario 64, having done it in the typing game, and at trade shows and what not. Anyhoo, best to him on this next endeavor.

In all seriousness, thanks for the memories Charles. You deserve a break.

This commentsection reads like a condoleance register. Anyway we can always play the old games.

@Pigeon he also says "So, long g** Bowser!"
I believe they took it out of the Switch re-release of Mario 64. One reason to buy your games psysical.

@ketrac And John Leguizamo as Luigi

Whoever's going to be his replacement in the voice, I hope they do a good job. (Also what do they mean by "ambassador"? Google told me that an "ambassador" is someone who represents a company but I don't think that's right)

“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."”
They could announce this now and be over with it but it seems to me they want to avoid having another Martinet and are placing little value on the new actor beyond a means to an end, wouldn’t surprise me if they put clauses in the new actor’s contract to prevent him from ever talking about his role or doing the voices outside of their games.

It is really good timing for Martinet to retire as the voice of Mario. Incredible final game and playing Mario's dad in the movie, if anything, makes this a beautiful send off.

Whoever is voicing Mario in Wonder is doing an incredible job, so it looks like Mario's voice is safe.

@Splodge I remember that "article." NL and this community called everyone losers who heard a difference in Mario's voice. And this happened.

@JoeyTS alright mate, thank you for the update.🙂

As long as it is not a Chris Pratt style voice then it will be fine.

So the last time we get to hear Charles as Mario is in...Sparks of Hope?

I always preferred Lou Albino's voice over all others. It IS sad to see a 25+ year veteran retire, though.

@Mana_Knight he might be bordering on that point. Don’t think Nintendo would go out of their way to create a special position for him if he was doing well. Nintendo has really gone out of their way for him, I think it’s very admirable and shows they want him around.

@LadyCharlie If Nintendo uses A.I for any game of any kind I ain’t buying. Now I don’t think they will do that but you never know which company’s lol.

Truly the end of an era. It is bittersweet, but sadly, it was inevitable. As much as we would have liked him to, Charles Martinet couldn't voice Mario and the gang forever. Someone would eventually have to take the reins.

And that day has finally come. But do not mourn his retirement from the role. Let us instead remember the fun times we had, shouting "Wahoo!" and "Mama Mia!" along with him in the games.

So, in celebration, let us all raise a glass of Whacka Juice (reference to The Three Little Princesses comic by TheBourgyman) in honor of Mr. Martinet's contribution to this franchise as the voice of the iconic plumber. He wasn't the first, he won't be the last, but he will certainly be the most memorable.

Best of luck to Charles Martinet in all of his future endeavors!

Was never of a fan of Mario speaking (so much that even refuse to see the movie).

Admittedly has much to do with growing up and too used to the series pre-N64.

Chris Pratt won't be replacing Charles.
Chris is a Hollywood actor who has other roles to worry about.
Charles didn't usually have a whole lot on his plate.

Chris would be pricey anyway.

Thanks for the memories Mr. Martinet

Godspeed to the man, but to me Mario was always Captain Lou Albano.

Must of been a tough gig for him, what with all those lines and rehearsing...

Cheers to Mr. Martinet! Over 30 years of memories and a legacy that will certainly live on. I'm curious to see who's been tapped to replace him in Super Mario Bros. Wonder and beyond.

@RobynAlecksys It was a joke

@Anti-Matter But the voice of the new Mario in Wonder sounds a lot like Charles Martinets portrayal of Mario, so I don’t think you’ll like the new voice actor of Mario either.

@BiscuitCrumbsInMyBed
I heard something a little bit different from new Mario voice in Super Mario Wonder, something about new personality.
But since I have very low hype with 2D platformer games, I think I will meet him for several years later as I will consider to buy that game very late.

I knew this would happen (Martinet retiring as Mario's voice I mean) one day in the future but somehow it still feels too soon.😭 Thank you for all of your hard work Martinet,❤️ atleast its a small comfort knowing you won't be entirely gone from Mario.

@progx I agree that it was decent of them to give him another role rather than just drop him with no consideration for where he might have been with finance, or if he really wanted to retire from work entirely. They didn't have to do that really, but that they did is nice . I guess the big question now, aside from who has replaced him, is are they taking a one character per role approach now, or how it will work. The new Mario might not be able to do Wario/Luigi etc.

@Enigk Now I really just want to hear him say it once!
"Woo...WHOO"

I'm late, but Charles has really made one of gaming's most iconic characters at the time even more iconic, and today you can argue Mario stands on similar grounds as Mickey Mouse and the likes. If it wasn't for Charles's amazing performances over the years, even if usually it just consisted of simple, short clips that made Mario into the funny wahoo man we know him as today, who knows where Mario might've been today.

In any case, thank you Charles for providing the voice of my childhood! Best of luck to you in the future, and best of luck to the person (or people) who is (are) going to take over your voice roles! 🙏

I went back to listen to the mario bros wonder trailer since it was confirmed that martinet wasn't doing the voice. It sounds like they're continuing with the general high pitched high energy style voice so the transition should be fairly easy.

Sad news, but he can rest assured that he has touched the souls of many with his cheerful disposition and wonderful voice work.

If you listen closely to the Wonder trailer, it's Luigi that sounds the most different, whereas Mario is quite close, just a slightly different pitch.

Having had the opportunity to meet Mr. Martinet a handful of times now, I can safely say that not only is he an icon that has breathed life into these beloved characters, he's also one of the nicest and most passionate VAs in the business and deserves the world. I wish him all of the best in his new position and thank him from the bottom of my heart for changing the childhoods and lives of so many of us for the better; truly the end of an era but as he would usually tell me the times I've met him, Charles, you numbah one!

Let’s not forget his other achievements, such as being the pinkest man alive.

RANDOM People Are Convinced Charles Martinet Isn't In Super Mario Bros. Wonder

The people were right!

@Mana_Knight Mario could be the entire Mario franchise of characters. Charles did more than Mario.

Oh, yes. I was very aware he did many of them! Just wonder if the new actor will cover the same range, or if they will get other actors for Luigi/Wario etc.

This breaks my heart a little but I’m so happy for him that he retires by his own initiative. At 67 he’s still young, and i wish him the best in his new adventures.

There are many talented voice actors but for me Martinet will forever have the number one spot.

Yeah, I do wonder if Nintendo will require the new va to also voice Luigi/Wario/Waluigi for consistency. Nintendo will probably try for this, as it is only one person to pay.

I don't envy his replacement given such a legacy to uphold.

I met Mr. Martinet once, and he was so kind. Very warm and funny. This news affected me, but, as long as it was his decision, I'm happy for him and his further ventures!

@ATHFjman18 I’d hate to live in a world where Clint Eastwood is the benchmark for retirement age. Also the “ambassador” thing is clearly a vanity position they created for him as a gratuity. But knowing Nintendo, you can put any hopes for “more details” to rest, they won’t be telling us anything. Charles might, but as far as I know, he hasn’t yet.

A sad day for Mario fans everywhere. I can't even think about any Nintendo properties without thinking of him and the contributions he has made to some many classic titles. At the same time though, he most certainly deserves to retire and enjoy his life. Being a Mario Ambassador sounds pretty darn cool to me.

Charles Martinet,your voice talent will be missed by so many people. good luck on becoming the Mario Ambassador!