Super Mario’s new voice actor has finally been revealed after rampant speculation on who would take over the role of the iconic plumber.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder made waves in the Nintendo community after fans noticed that Mario’s voice sounded slightly different during its initial reveal trailer.
Shortly after, Mario’s long-time voice actor Charles Martinet revealed he would be stepping down from the iconic role after 30 years. However, Nintendo refused to confirm who would replace Martinet until Mario Wonder officially released.
Now, just one week ahead of its October 20, 2023 release date, Mario’s new voice actor has been officially revealed through a post on social media.
Mario’s new voice actor confirmed through social media
On October 13, 2023, voice actor Kevin Afghani tweeted the following: “Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Thanks to Nintendo for inviting me into the Flower Kingdom!”
Afghani’s tweet quickly went viral on social media, garnering well over 600,000 views and 14,000 likes in just one hour. Nintendo has subsequently confirmed the role via email, according to Polygon.
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According to Afghani’s IMDB page, the Los Angeles-based actor has voiced roles like Arnold from Genshin Impact and has done work for the Mashed YouTube channel.
Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Thanks to Nintendo for inviting me into the Flower Kingdom!
— Kevin Afghani (@KevinAfghani) October 13, 2023
This official confirmation comes after rampant speculation across social media on who the new voice actor was after one user on Famiboards datamined a demo kiosk for Mario Wonder. They compiled the data surrounding voice assets and used process of elimination to try and determine the voice actor.
Many assumed voice actor Mike Wingert would be stepping into the plumber’s iconic shoes but Wingert’s agents denied he was voicing Mario in Wonder, as reported by IGN.
It’s unclear whether or not Nintendo decided to reveal Mario’s new voice actor earlier than expected because of the datamine.
Regardless, fans can finally place a name to Mario’s new voice. Those looking forward to seeing Afghani’s take on the iconic mustachioed plumber won’t have to wait long, as Super Mario Bros. Wonder is set to release on October 20, 2023.