UPDATE: Special Message from Miyamoto and Martinet
OMG! I never thought this day would come so soon! This news absolutely breaks my heart!!! T_T I love hearing Charles Martinet doing his SMB character voices and it always puts a big stupid smile on my face when I hear them. This is sort of starting to make sense, given how people were freaking out about how Mario sounded a bit off the the Super Mario Wonder trailer. Sill, it makes me wonder what the reason for this is and how Nintendo will voice the characters going forward..? A.I. or Sound-a-like? I mean, they probably have enough recordings of Charles to stitch together an A.I. voice and keep him voicing the characters long after he's gone.
Thank you so much for bringing smiles to so many faces and giving Mario & Co. their iconic voices, Mr. Martinet. These characters wouldn't have became what they are today without you. Your voice(s) will be deeply missed.