Martinet will be "moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador," Nintendo writes, a role that will see him "continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all!" Nintendo didn't provide a reason for the transition, but the company promised a video message featuring Martinet and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto "at a future date" that might have more details.
"My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart!" Martinet said in his own retweet of the news.
A storied career
Martinet, who turned 67 this year, has been voicing Mario for over half of his life at this point. While Martinet first rose to prominence for his iconic "It's-a-Me, Mario!" performance in 1996's Super Mario 64, he is first credited as the "Mario Voice and Personality" in the 1994 CD-ROM release of Mario Teaches Typing. He also voiced "real time" 3D-animated versions of Mario and Wario to entertain line-waiters as far back as the 1992 Winter Consumer Electronics Show (clips of which may have been used for a 1992 Super Mario Bros. pinball game).
Since those early roles, Martinet has voiced Mario and his family members in dozens of games, earning a Guinness World Record for the most performances as a single video game character. Martinet hasn't been pigeonholed in the Mario universe, though, with roles in games ranging from Space Quest 6 to Skyrim and occasional bit parts in TV and film (many of which are noted on Martinet's charmingly retro website).
Martinet's heavy Italian accent is so closely associated with Mario at this point that Chris Pratt's very different take on the character for the recent Super Mario Bros. Movie drew a lot of confusion and criticism from sources, including my young daughter. In a nod to Martinet's history in the Mario role, though, he filled cameo roles in the film as Mario's Dad and pizza parlor customer Giuseppe.
Nintendo hasn't officially confirmed whether or not Martinet's voice is present in the upcoming Super Mario Wonder, leading to some rampant speculation that he has already been replaced, based on a few voice clips in the game's June trailer. [Update: Nintendo has confirmed to Gamespot that Martinet's voice will not be present in Super Mario Wonder. "While Charles is not involved in the game, we're excited to honor his legacy and contributions, including looking ahead to what he'll be doing as a Mario Ambassador," the company said.] And as anyone who has watched recent Simpsons episodes can attest, the timbre of an actor's vocal performances can change dramatically as they get older.
We're looking forward to seeing Martinet in his new ambassador role, even as we wonder what this move will mean for Mario's in-game vocal appearances going forward.
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