View this post on Instagram2020 in Two frames. A post shared by Alex Désert (@alexdesertwashere) on
Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Alex Désert will voice Carl Carlson in The Simpsons Season 32 premiere.
Variety reported Thursday that Désert, 52, will replace The Simpsons creator Hank Azaria as the voice of Carl in the episode, which airs Sunday on Fox.
The Hollywood Reporter said it is unclear if Désert, who is Black, will continue to voice Carl, a Black character, in future episodes.
"We are very pleased to welcome Alex Désert, playing Carl in the Simpsons season premiere," The Simpsons said in a statement.
The news follows criticism of whitewashed casting in animated series. The Simpsons producers said in June that the show "will no longer have White actors voice non-White characters."
Azaria, who is White, voiced Carl and other characters of color on the series, including the South Asian character Apu. Azaria said on The Late Show in April that he was stepping down from the role of Apu.
White actors in other animated series, including Mike Henry of Family Guy and Jenny Slate of Big Mouth, have also stopped voicing characters of color.
Désert reacted to his casting Thursday on Instagram.
"This has been a rough week. No- year. And then... Yup. This is happening. The resemblance is uncanny! See y'all Sunday! #thesimpsons #CarlCarlson," he wrote.
Désert played Captain Julio Mendez on The Flash and Donte on Better Things. He voiced characters in the animated series Mr. Pickles and Spider-Man.
