The voice actors newly cast in Mario Kart World as Toad and Peach have spoken out following Samantha Kelly's surprising departure after nearly two decades in the roles.

Samantha Kelly, the longtime voice behind Super Mario's Princess Peach and Toad, learned she'd been replaced when Mario Kart World launched alongside Nintendo Switch 2 without her familiar performances. Since debuting in 2007's Mario Strikers Charged, Kelly had voiced the characters across 70+ Nintendo titles spanning multiple console generations.

As first reported by Eurogamer, replacements Paul Castro Jr. (Toad) and Courtney Lin (Peach) have now confirmed their casting through social media posts.

"After keeping it under wraps, I'm thrilled to announce I voice all the male Toads in Mario Kart World!" Castro wrote on X/Twitter. "Playing this childhood dream role while actually enjoying the game on my travels has been unbelievable. Huge thanks to Nintendo for this incredible opportunity."

Lin shared her excitement: "The secret's out - I'm the new voice of Princess Peach and Baby Peach! I'm deeply humbled Nintendo entrusted me with such an iconic legacy."

"These characters transcend any one performer," she continued. "I have immense respect for all previous Peaches, especially the voice I grew up with. I'll cherish every moment of this journey and hope fans are loving the game as much as I do. Wahooo!! Sweet!"

Nintendo maintains tight control over credit disclosures, frequently withholding developer information until release dates. This policy extends to voice acting credits, which the company typically confirms only post-launch.

The recasting follows other recent Nintendo voice changes, including Takashi Nagasako's departure as Donkey Kong after 21 years. As shown in Mario Kart World's credits, Kouji Takeda now voices the character across all language versions, including Bananza. Takeda previously voiced DK in the Japanese Super Mario Bros. Movie dub.

These changes come in the wake of Charles Martinet's retirement after his legendary 30-year run voicing Mario, Luigi, Wario and Waluigi, marking a significant shift in Nintendo's traditionally consistent voice casting approach.