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Charles Martinet, The Iconic Voice Of Super Mario, Is Retiring From The Role

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Illumination Entertainment
By Jeremy Mathai/

The phrase "End of an era" gets tossed around perhaps a little too cavalierly these days, but here's one item that truly earns that superlative. Fans around the globe and of multiple generations have enjoyed the work of Charles Martinet, the one and only voice behind the beloved video game character Mario (well, the one and only voice in the video games, at least). Today brought the bittersweet announcement that will render the Mushroom Kingdom somewhat less magical, as the legendary voice actor is officially retiring from the role, bringing a conclusion to a decades-long run that stretches back to 1991.

The bombshell news was dropped by Nintendo's official Twitter account, which announced the "transition" that will see Martinet no longer recording character voices for the various video games (he also voiced characters such as Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and many more in addition to Mario over the years). In the heartfelt social media post, Nintendo had this to say:

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.

But that doesn't mean the promotional campaign for this year's "Super Mario Bros. Movie" was the last we'll see of him, of course. The announcement goes out of its way to say that Martinet will be taking on the indescribably cool-sounding job title of Mario Ambassador. As it states, "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!"

A fitting goodbye

Super Mario Bros. Movie Illumination Entertainment

You want to talk about going out on top? Charles Martinet's legacy as the voice of Mario has been secure for years and years at this point, as clearly evidenced by the avalanche of fans who immediately called for the voice actor to have been cast as Mario for "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" rather than Chris Pratt. But the man, myth, and legend still managed to grace us with his presence in the film with an even more poignant role: the father of Mario and Luigi. Though he certainly had his disagreements with his rambunctious sons, the character's final scene and Martinet's final lines of dialogue turned out to be as fitting as can be and on multiple levels: "These are my boys."

Martinet himself responded to the news the only way he knows how on social media. In a tweet, he good-naturedly posted:

"My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo !!!!!!!"

Of course, attention will soon shift to the search for a new voice actor to take over as Mario in future games. We wouldn't exactly hold our breath for Chris Pratt taking over the role to such an extent, but it's certain to cause no end of angst — deservedly so, given the impossibly large shoes that Martinet has left for the next actor to fill. Still, it's a relief to know that he'll still remain with Nintendo in some capacity and whatever "special video message" that they have cooking up will surely be a treat. Thanks for everything, Charles!

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