Highlights
- Mario's new voice actor will not be revealed until after the launch of Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
- Charles Martinet, the legendary voice actor for Mario since 1994, will step down from his role but remain an ambassador for the franchise.
- Players have mixed feelings about someone else voicing Mario.
The new voice actor for Mario won't be revealed until players see the credits of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The legendary Charles Martinet first provided the voice for Mario in 1994’s Mario Teaches Typing, and he would go on to voice not only the titular hero of the Mushroom Kingdom but also his brother Luigi and the nefarious Wario and Waluigi in the many Mario games since. However, it was revealed earlier this year that he would be stepping down from his most iconic voice-acting role in favor of a new position as an ambassador for the Super Mario Bros. franchise.
Fans previously noticed that Mario sounded different during June’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder reveal trailer - and sure enough, the next mainline Mario game will introduce players to Charles Martinet’s successor. The idea of somebody else voicing Mario has generated a mixed response from players, with some stating that they will miss Martinet as the spunky, red-clad plumber and others excited to hear Mario’s new voice. Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt voiced Mario in this year's animated Super Mario Bros. Movie, a decision that likewise had generated a fair deal of controversy before the film's massively successful release.
Now Nintendo has revealed that Mario’s new voice actor won’t be revealed until after Super Mario Bros. Wonder launches on the Nintendo Switch on October 20. In a recent interview with IGN, Nintendo of America's president Doug Bowser stated that there will be no formal announcement for the new voice actor and that their name will first be revealed in Wonder’s end credits.
Doug Bowser also reiterated that Charles Martinet will remain a central part of the Super Mario franchise through his new role as an ambassador for the brand - even if Martinet himself recently stated that he isn’t entirely sure what this job entails. Previous statements from Nintendo have implied that Martinet will travel the world and interact with fans, though the exact details still aren’t clear as of this writing.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be a bittersweet moment for longtime Mario fans, as while Wonder's new power-ups and level-changing Wonder Seed mechanics look promising, it will also be the first Super Mario game since 1994 to not have Martinet’s iconic voice. Whoever steps into the role of the titular plumber mascot will have big shoes to fill for many players, and they won’t know for certain who will be providing Mario’s signature sound bites going forward until Super Mario Bros. Wonder is released next month.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder launches on October 20, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: IGN
