Charles Martinet has provided the voice of Mario for Nintendo since the 1996 release of Super Mario 64, but now his time as the character has come to an end. In a move that was perhaps foreshadowed by Chris Pratt stepping in for the character in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Martinet being given a cameo via another character, Nintendo has announced he's moving on from the role. As news of his exit spreads, the internet has no shortage of Pratt jokes going around.
After twenty-seven years as the voice of Mario in various Nintendo games, Charles Martinet is stepping down and will no longer voice the character in upcoming projects. The announcement was made by the game company, which explained that Martinet would remain a part of the company by serving as an ambassador for the Nintendo brand. Perhaps it might've been best to put this message on another site than X, as the internet was already on top of quote-posting the news with jokes about Pratt taking over as the official voice of Mario:
Chris Pratt now that Charles is retiring from voicing Mario https://t.co/cxqmLbw5O4 pic.twitter.com/bSGc0eu36dAugust 21, 2023
The sudden news of Charles Martinet's departure has stunned Nintendo fans and left some speculation as to whether or not he was the voice actor for the upcoming game Super Mario Bros. Wonder. While the trailer sounds like, at the very least, a Martinet-soundalike was used for the game if it wasn't the actor himself, people can't help but joke that Pratt was called up to lend his voice to the latest 2D platformer:
Chris Pratt walking into Nintendo HQ to record for Mario Wonder pic.twitter.com/hZUJr2O0ZNAugust 21, 2023
Nintendo did not reveal what its plans are for the future of Mario or who will be voicing him in video games going forward. Despite that, it seems like people are already on board with the fantasy that Chris Pratt is somewhere right now salivating over the opportunity to take on the role and possibly scoring a payday from Nintendo in the process:
Chris Pratt right now: https://t.co/Nss9uKBE3b pic.twitter.com/TiF2yi3XhDAugust 21, 2023
While we can only speculate, it seems unlikely that Nintendo would pay the amount of money it would likely require to retain Chris Pratt for all of its Mario projects. The character is used quite heavily in Nintendo branding, and is featured in a number of games every couple of years. It doesn't seem like Nintendo would be willing to pay the price for that workload considering how busy Pratt is in Hollywood, but that hasn't stopped the memes that Pratt advocated for it:
When Charles Martinet wanted to continue to be the voice of Super Mario but Chris Pratt said…pic.twitter.com/TK0Awpf5uxAugust 21, 2023
The most likely scenario is that Nintendo either wanted to replace Charles Martinet with a soundalike actor due to reasons we aren't entirely aware of, or it could be rebranding to give Mario a more Brooklyn-like accent closer to what's found in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. While the jokes don't really add anything to the conversation, it's fair game considering we still don't have a ton of information to react to.
The jokes may be flowing in, but there's no denying Charles Martinet is getting plenty of love on the heels of this big news. There was no shortage of well wishes and thanks to the voice actor as he posted a response to the news he's stepping down as Mario:
My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo !!!!!!!
It's understandable that many on the web would joke about Chris Pratt stealing Charles Martinet's gig as Mario, as some felt he did when Nintendo enlisted the A-lister for the voice of Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Despite the fact that Pratt sounded nothing like the voice Martinet crafted for the character over two decades, the movie made tons at the box office, and a sequel is very likely. Perhaps there is some possibility that the future voice of Mario could sound very Pratt-like, but only time will tell.
Those with a Peacock Premium subscription can hear Charles Martinet's cameo in The Super Mario Bros. Movie right now. Personally, I like to fire it up daily to watch Jack Black's Bowser sing "Peaches," and now I'm wondering if he's going to be the new voice of the King of Koopas.
