Nintendo fans joke Chris Pratt will replace Charles Martinet as legendary Mario voice actor retires

Legendary voice actor Charles Martinet – the man behind Nintendo’s beloved plumber Mario as well as characters Luigi, Wario and Waluigi – has announced he is to retire after 27 years portraying the iconic roles, and fans are already joking that Super Mario Bros. Movie star Chris Pratt could take over from him.

Martinet, who started voicing characters from the Mushroom Kingdom back in 1991 and was introduced to many in the game Super Mario 64, shared a statement from Nintendo confirming the news and added: “My new adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart!”

Nintendo’s statement, shared to Twitter/X on Monday, reads: “Charles is now moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador.

“With this transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games, but he’ll continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all!

“It has been an honour working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him.”

And while many paid tribute to Martinet’s impressive catalogue of work as Mario, some couldn’t help but joke that Pratt could be his replacement.

The actor, also known for his appearances in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and the Jurassic World franchise, was roasted back in October when his take on the character – who has an Italian accent – for The Super Mario Bros. Movie was revealed to the world.

CEO of the animation studio Illumination Chris Meledandri had described Pratt’s Mario voice as “phenomenal”, while the man himself teased it was “unlike anything you’ve heard in the Mario world before”.

Unfortunately for him, many fans mocked his take on the character as “his normal speaking voice”, rather than anything close to Martinet’s version which we all know and love.

But hey, some have – mostly in a joking manner – suggested he may now have a chance to do more Mario work given Martinet’s retirement:

Although Pratt’s Mario voice continues to prove divisive, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was still a huge success at the box office, raking in more than $1.3 billion following its release earlier this year.

Let’s-a go?

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.