Longtime Mario voice actor Charles Martinet shocked fans earlier this year when he announced he was retiring from voicing the iconic plumber. Nintendo will later confirm that Martinet was not the voice of Mario in the upcoming Nintendo Switch title, Super Mario Bros. Wonder. This has led to widespread speculation and theorizing of who is the new voice of Mario. Nintendo has finally confirmed the new voice behind the famous video game icon, with the voice actor confirming on social media. The new voice of Super Mario is Kevin Afghani.
Who Voices Mario in Super Mario Bros. Wonder?
Charles Martinet first voiced Mario in 1994 and was the character’s primary voice performer until 2023. The first major recast of Mario happened with the Super Mario Bros. movie. Hollywood movie star Chris Pratt instead voiced the iconic video game character. Martinet had a small role in the film, but he soon announced his retirement from the role in August. The actor has since been given the title of Mario Ambassador.
Nintendo had already released trailers for the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder game. The company didn’t reveal at the time that Martinet wasn’t the voice of Mario in the Wonder footage. It was after Martinet announced his retirement when Nintendo confirmed a new actor was voicing Mario in Wonder. The company didn’t reveal who was the new voice actor and no one stood up to reveal they were the new Mario.
This has led to speculation from fans and critics before Nintendo finally confirmed Kevin Afghani is the new voice of Mario. The actor will also provide the vocals for Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Afghani confirmed his casting on his social media accounts.
Afghani is a Los Angeles-based voice actor who has done small roles in games like Genshin Impact. His performance as Mario and Luigi will be his most prolific role yet. It’s unknown if he will remain the primary voice of Mario moving forward or if he will only remain the voice of the red plumber for Wonder.
Related: Chris Pratt Reveals Mario Movie Features Special Post-Credits Scene
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will launch on the Nintendo Switch on October 20.
