Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario, is stepping down

As we all know by now, Charles Martinet, the legendary voice of Mario and other Nintendo characters, is stepping back from his role as a voice actor for video games and Is going to transition to a new role as “Mario Ambassador.” Today, Martinet and Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, released a video in which they acknowledged the transition and had a little fun with one another despite not being on screen together. In it, they promised that Martinet would still be around and would still be a part of the brand as he’d spread the joy of Mario as he travels around the world.

By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.

After stepping down as the voice of Mario and preparing for his new role as Mario Ambassador, Charles Martinet has a message for fans. With help from creator Shigeru Miyamoto, the longtime voice of Mario took a moment to introduce his new role and gush about how much he loves all the people who have supported him as Mario over the years.

Charles Martinet and Shigeru Miyamoto have explained Martinet’s new role as ‘Mario Ambassador’.

Nintendo has shared a video of Charles Martinet saying goodbye to his role as Mario, as well as revealing that he calls Shigeru Miyamoto "papa".

Years ago I met Charles Martinet at E3. We shot a quick video where I said “It’s a-you?” and he shrieked “It’s a-me!” in the voice. I was so taken aback that I said “Holy Sh*t!” – He immediately took me aside and asked me not to post the video, as it would be inappropriate for children. We ended up posting it anyway, with my swear bleeped out, and it was a cute, hopefully inoffensive bit of fun. But what I really took away from that moment is how much Charles Martinet cares about his fans. He wants to fill their hearts with hope and joy, and not whatever the opposite of those two things is. That may be why we still haven’t heard exactly why he’s no longer the voice of Mario in the games.

Nintendo of America recently announced that Charles Martinet would be hanging up his cap as the voice of Mario, a role he's occupied the goomba-stomping boots of since 1996. Nintendo of America announced the transition via a post on Twitter/X last month, revealing he'd be «moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador.»  

Voice actor Charles Martinet, who provided the voice of Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and other iconic characters for decades, has spoken publicly about his new 'Mario Ambassador' role, and has revealed that he’s not entirely sure what it will consist of yet, either.

Mario Ambassador Charles Martinet is still unsure what his new role actually entails.

Charles Martinet has said that he doesn’t yet know what his new role of ‘Mario Ambassador’ entails.

Charles Martinet, the original voice actor of Mario, is retiring after 27 years and and will now serve as a «Mario Ambassador», Nintendo has confirmed.

Nintendo officially confirms that the iconic and longstanding voice of Mario, Charles Martinet, will not be involved in the production of the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder.