Voice actor Samantha Kelly discovered her 18-year tenure voicing Super Mario characters Princess Peach and Toad had ended on the day Nintendo Switch 2 launched — with the release of Mario Kart World excluding her contributions.
While not a household name, Kelly has portrayed Peach and Toad in more than 70 games across Nintendo DS, 3DS, Wii, Wii U, and Switch since her debut in 2007's Mario Strikers Charged.
From Super Mario Bros. to Luigi's Mansion, Mario Kart to Super Smash Bros., Kelly voiced two of the Mushroom Kingdom's most iconic characters — even taking the lead in titles like Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and last year's Princess Peach: Showtime!
Her vocal work also extended to Nintendo-licensed games developed by third parties, including Ubisoft’s Mario + Rabbids series and Sega’s Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.
Beyond gaming, Kelly voiced the characters for interactive Lego Super Mario toys, within Nintendo’s Super Nintendo World theme parks, and as other Toad variants in the blockbuster Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Yet Kelly’s name is absent from Mario Kart World’s credits. After fans noticed the omission, the actor confirmed her time as Peach and Toad has concluded.
“Thank you for so many years of friendship and joy,” Kelly shared on Instagram. “I’m sad it’s over — I truly wished to voice Peach and Toad forever. Nintendo informed me yesterday that they’ve recast the roles.
“I’m grateful for the years I had. Peach and Toad are strong, beautiful characters, and I hope they thrive no matter who gives them voice. Much love.”
Nintendo has grown increasingly guarded about disclosing credit details ahead of game releases — sometimes even refusing to confirm a game’s developer prior to launch. (This is currently the case with the upcoming Donkey Kong Bananza, which players have already sampled at Switch 2 preview events.)
Kelly’s situation appears to be a strange extension of this policy, where even she wasn't informed of her replacement until Mario Kart World officially released.
It remains unclear who now voices Peach and Toad in Mario Kart World and presumably future Mario titles.
Mario Kart World: Best Tracks Ranked
Mario Kart World: Best Tracks Ranked
Observant fans also noted the absence of veteran Donkey Kong voice actor Takashi Nagasako, who had voiced the character since 2004's Mario Power Tennis. Instead, Koji Takeda — who voiced DK in the Japanese version of The Super Mario Bros. Movie — is credited, suggesting Nintendo may be aligning the game character’s voice with its cinematic counterpart.
IGN has reached out to Nintendo for comment.
This isn’t the first recent recast: in 2022, Charles Martinet — the iconic voice of Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi for nearly 30 years — was retired from the roles. Nintendo stated Martinet would continue as a "Mario Ambassador," though the actor later admitted he wasn’t entirely sure what the title entailed.
