The Chris Pratt jokes can be retired.
Nintendo has found the new video game voice of Mario in Kevin Afghani, who will take over for Charles Martinet beginning with Super Mario Bros. Wonder . “Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Thanks to Nintendo for inviting me into the Flower Kingdom!” Afghani wrote on X. The news was confirmed by Nintendo in an email which simply said, “The voice actor’s name is Kevin Afghani.”
Afghani has a short IMDb history with only six credits, including Genshin Impact, Dragon Ball R&R, and Anime Penguin: Red Snow, which I want to watch right now.
Martinet, who has been voicing Mario (and Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi) since the Super Mario 64 days, is still in the Nintendo family, but not as a “Mario Ambassador.” Nintendo explained, “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.”
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
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be available on the Nintendo Switch on October 20th.