Faith Lane 
Charles Martinet has voiced gaming icon Mario for almost 30 years, but it’s time to say goodbye to the legend and possibly say hello to Chris Pratt as the new full-time voice of the character.
In the past, Nintendo fans have seen a number of different actors play the role of Mario. Chris Pratt recently starred in the Super Mario Bros. Movie, but there have been a number of other people to play the role in games, television shows, and more. In the realm of video games however, Charles Martinet has been the definitive voice of the character since Mario 64.
That’s now changing. Nintendo has announced that Martinet will now be a “Mario Ambassador,” where he will continue traveling to promote the character he brought to life. Unfortunately, this also means that he will be stepping back from voicing the character. This is the end of an era for arguably the biggest character in video games.
Is Charles Martinet done voicing Mario?
Charles Martinet is no longer voicing Mario and will instead work as a brand ambassador for Nintendo.
As of this writing, there is no confirmation about who will take on the role in upcoming Mario games, but this does leave the spot open. In the announcement, Nintendo promised fans a special message from Shigeru Miyamoto regarding the new voice of Mario “at a future date.” There are a number of upcoming Mario titles that are likely to have at least some voice acting including Mario Bros. Wonder, the Super Mario RPG remake, and potential new titles for the Nintendo Switch successor.
While there isn’t anyone confirmed for the role of voicing Mario, it does raise the question of if the company will go with the obvious choice of Chris Pratt. Despite initial backlash to his casting, Pratt was praised for his work after the movie’s launch. The film made over $1.3 billion at the box office.
Will Chris Pratt be the new voice of Mario in the video games?
It is unknown if Chris Pratt will be the new full-time voice of Mario, but there is a definite possibility.
Pratt, who is also known for his role as Star-Lord in Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy, starred in the Super Mario Bros. Movie as the voice of the Italian hero himself. Many disagreed with this casting when it was announced during a Nintendo Direct. With Guardians of the Galaxy wrapping its third and final movie, it could free him up for other possible roles.
However, this would be a huge change for fans and players of the games regardless. Pratt’s Mario didn’t have the distinctive accent Martinet used for the character, meaning Mario could sound very different moving forward. Alongside Mario, Martinet also voiced Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi so other major characters will also be getting new voice actors. For now, there is no announcement of what the future holds.
