Charles Martinet has stepped down from his three-decade-long role as Mario and he will now be a “Mario Ambassador,” claimed Nintendo. What’s a Mario Ambassador? We don’t know and neither does Martinet, who is just as confused as everyone else.
Martinet appeared in Galaxycon Austin (via Nintendo Everything) to talk about his experiences voicing Nintendo’s iconic plumber. The legendary voice actor then went on to discuss his role as the character’s ambassador, which he is still unfamiliar with.
“I am now a Mario Ambassador. I don’t know what that is yet. I’m not retired as it were, but I’m an ambassador,” Martinet explains. “As we step forward into the future, we’ll all learn exactly what that is.”
We still don’t know the full details on Martinet leaving the Mario role, as it could have been his decision or Nintendo’s. Either way, the two are moving on but the fact we don’t know what a “Mario Ambassador” does is kind of embarrassing. The fact Martinet said this live makes it kind of funny.
The upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder will include Nintendo’s new Mario voice actor, who hasn’t been revealed yet. It’s not yet clear if Nintendo will make a big deal about this, though the departure of Martinet did get a lot of press. Unless they get Chris Pratt, it will be hard to get excited over an actor who can say “wahoo” like Mario does.
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Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be coming to the Nintendo Switch next month, on October 20. Fans will also be getting a remake of Super Mario RPG in November, which will likely have the new VA as well.