Charles Martinet doesn’t know what he’ll be doing in his new job as “Mario Ambassador”
by Danny Craig
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Charles Martinet
Charles Martinet, the former voice actor for Mario and other iconic Nintendo characters, stepped down from his role last month, and Nintendo appointed him as "Mario Ambassador." He has, however, stated that he "doesn't know" what he will do in the position.
The details:
- Martinet revealed during a Q&A panel at GalaxyCon Austin (via Nintendo Everything) that, despite Nintendo's announcement that he will be taking on the role of Mario Ambassador, the company hasn't told him what he'll be doing, nor has he retired as some have speculated. “I am now, you might have seen on the news, a Mario Ambassador,” he told fans at the panel. "I don’t know what that is yet. I’m not retired, as it were. I don’t know how... but I’m an ambassador. And as we step forward into the future, I will learn—we'll all learn—what exactly that is.”
- He did state that he would be "ambassading" for Nintendo and Mario, as he has in the past, but he asked fans not to bother him about his official role since he doesn't know "anything about it yet," which led to the rest of the Q&A relating to his acting work.
- Fans speculated that a major change was on the way after the reveal of Super Mario Bros. Wonder in June, as Mario sounded noticeably different than usual, but Nintendo has yet to reveal who the new voice actor is. Martinet made his first major appearance as Mario in 1996 with Super Mario 64, and he has starred as the Italian plumber in all mainline titles up until Wonder, with his voice lines becoming an iconic part of the character.
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