The news is now official. The long-time voice of Mario and various Super Mario characters, Charles Martinet, will no longer be voicing characters in the series. Fans took notice of how different Mario sounded in the trailer for Super Mario Wonder, their suspicions are now confirmed. In a message provided by Nintendo via Twitter/X, the company confirms he will be transitioning into a new Mario Ambassador role. The message reads as follows:

"Charles Martinet has been the original voice of Mario in Nintendo games for a long time, as far back as Super Mario 64. 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 honor working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years, and we want to thank and celebrate him. Please keep an eye out for a special video message from Shigeru Miyamoto and Charles himself, which we will post at a future date."

We have a message for fans of the Mushroom Kingdom. Please take a look. pic.twitter.com/U1ASicOuTO

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 21, 2023

Charles Martinet began his role as Mario video games in the 1995 CD game Mario Teaches Typing. Along with Mario, he also provides the voices for Luigi, Wario, Metal Mario, Shadow Mario, Mini-Mario Toys, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi and Baby Wario. His voice credits also include characters in Super Punch-Out!, Paarthurnax in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and live action roles like the Barney parody "Arnie" in the 1995 movie Nine Months, starring Hugh Grant.

All things must come to an end, and Martinet's role as Mario is considered iconic for lots of Nintendo fans throughout the decades.