Charles Martinet will no longer say, “It’s-a Me, Mario!” as the legendary voice actor steps down after 25 years in the role.
The move marks an end of an era for the famed video game franchise. For a quarter of a century, Martinet voiced Mario in Super Mario 64, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Galaxy, and a dozen other video games. Since 1991, he has been Mario at trade shows before recording his first Nintendo game in 1996. Martinet also voiced Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Luigi, and Baby Mario.
For Martinet, this also marks a new beginning as he takes on a new adventure in his career as Mario Ambassador.
“Charles is now moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador,” Nintendo said in a tweet posted Monday. “With this new transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games. 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.”
As Mario Ambassador, Nintendo said Martinet will travel the world “sharing the joy of Mario.”
Super Mario fans may have noticed the difference already after the Super Mario Bros. Movie debuted on April 5. The voice wasn’t quite the same because it wasn’t our beloved Martinet. Instead, the role of Mario went to Chris Pratt and Charlie Day was cast as Luigi for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The movie paid tribute to Martinet by casting him as Giuseppe and Mario’s father.
The trailers for Super Mario Bros. Wonder and WarioWare: Move It also don’t include his iconic voice. Nintendo confirmed Martinet will not be in the video games debuting this fall.
However, Nintendo is “excited to honor his legacy and contributions,” according to a memo sent to Polygon. The company will release a video message with Martinet and Shigeru Miyamoto, though Nintendo did not comment on when it will be posted.