REDMOND, Wash. — Nintendo confirmed on Monday that the original voice of Mario, Charles Martinet, will now serve in the role of “Mario Ambassador,” traveling the world to promote the famous plumber and sign autographs.
Martinet, 67, has voiced Mario since the 1990s. He also provided the voices for Luigi, Wario and Waluigi in the video games. While he did not voice Mario in the recent movie, he did have a small role as Mario’s dad.
“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 all of you,” Nintendo said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
“It’s been a privilege working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him,” Nintendo said.
Martinet, too, shared Nintendo’s statement.
“My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart!” he posted on his X account.
Nintendo did not say why Martinet is stepping down or who would replace him as Mario’s voice, The Associated Press reported.
At a Canadian gaming and comics expo two years ago, Martinet told the audience “I want to voice Mario until I drop dead” in response to a fan’s question, according to gaming blog The Game Crater.
But he added “if someday I think I am no longer capable of doing it, I will tell Nintendo to look into finding someone else.”