Charles Martinet, all-round top bloke and positively iconic voice of our favourite red-hatted plumber is going to be resting his pipes. Martinet has voiced Mario since the ‘90s and dropped his first iconic “WAHOO!” in Mario 64, before going on to define basically every Mario-adjacent character in the series. Seriously, his Wario is beyond excellent.
Nintendo posted a glowing statement on their social media explaining that while he may not be providing any further “Mamma mia” lines to games, he will be instead be stepping into the role of Mario Ambassador – where he will travel the world “sharing the joy of Mario” and interacting with fans, something he is very much known for.
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
Charles is the very definition of a legend, loving the work he has done and every fan that has had a chance to interact with him have all come away saying that he is every bit as awesome as you would expect.
Just listen to him gush about how much he loves the community in this incredible video from Guinness World Records:
Martinet also voices Wario, Luigi, Waluigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi across the wider Nintendo universe – so observers are now curious as to how Nintendo might approach such a breadth of talent for future titles. Do they seek out six new personalities to embody these characters? Or try and find another godly jack-of-all-trade like Charles?
People are already clamouring to ask who might be providing the voice of Mario in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder game, with Nintendo confirming that Charles is not involved in the game – a similar comment was offered when asked about WarioWare: Move It!
It’s great to see that Charles will be treated as the special gaming celebrity he is – with a fitting final credit being his work as Mario’s dad in the The Super Mario Bros. Movie this year.
Are you sad to see the iconic voice of Mario move on? Will it ever be the same without him? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
Known throughout the interwebs simply as M0D3Rn, Ash is bad at video games. An old guard gamer who suffers from being generally opinionated, it comes as no surprise that he is both brutally loyal and yet, fiercely whimsical about all things electronic. On occasion will make a youtube video that actually gets views. Follow him on YouTube @Bad at Video Games
