Mama’d His Last Mia
Surprising news out of the Mushroom Kingdom this morning. Nintendo has announced that Mario voice actor Charles Martinet would be stepping away from the role. He is instead taking on a new role as Mario Ambassador with Nintendo.
Charles Martinet was not just the voice actor for Mario, but pretty much every Italian in overalls in the series. He voiced Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, as well as Baby Mario and Baby Luigi. He has been credited in over 120 titles voicing a Mario character between 1994 and 2023. Martinet made his debut as Mario in 1994 with Mario Teaches Typing. However, he officially began working with Nintendo in 1996 in the iconic Super Mario 64.
While best known for his voice as Mario, Charles has lent his talents to many other games. One of his most famous roles was in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim as Paarthunax. He had a cameo role as Mario and Luigi’s father Giuseppe in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Martinet also voiced Magenta in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, which he reprised in 2023 for Dragon Ball Legends.
We have a message for fans of the Mushroom Kingdom. Please take a look. pic.twitter.com/U1ASicOuTO
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 21, 2023
So what is next for Mario? We know that Nintendo won’t just stop making Mario games. Will someone else takeover dishing out Wahoo’s and Yipee’s? Or will someone reinvent the character with fully voiced dialogue? Maybe Chris Pratt will step in? Who knows.
What do you think we be next for the Mario role? Let us know in the comments below.