Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Like most people excited about The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, I was genuinely surprised that Nintendo and Illumination chose to reveal the inclusion of Star Fox’s Fox McCloud ahead of the sequel’s release in theaters. It certainly felt like a surprise appearance that would have been far more exciting to discover while watching the movie itself, rather than through an official character poster released by Nintendo.
Despite keeping Fox McCloud’s involvement a secret throughout the entirety of its marketing campaign, Nintendo made the Star Fox reveal almost exactly a week before the movie’s opening day, revealing the character’s design while also confirming that the character would be voiced by Glen Powell. Again, given the timing, it very much felt like Nintendo was spoiling their own movie, as Fox hadn’t been featured in any marketing beforehand (save for a shot of his arm in one trailer, which did generate some fan theories).
That said, I totally get why Nintendo went ahead with the Fox McCloud reveal, now that I’ve had the chance to see The Super Mario Galaxy Movie for myself.
Fox McCloud’s Super Mario Galaxy Role Was Much Bigger Than A Cameo
If Glen Powell’s Fox McCloud had only appeared for a quick cameo or post-credits tease, that would have been one thing, and Nintendo should have absolutely kept him hidden prior to the movie’s release. However, Fox’s role in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ended up being much bigger than I was expecting.
Searching for Princess Rosalina after she was captured by Bowser Jr, Princess Peach and Toad make their way to the Gateway Galaxy. Once they learn where Bowser Jr. is, they head for the flight deck in search of a pilot to take them to the Space Junk Galaxy.
After getting directions from R.O.B. and walking past a group of Pikmin in a small rocket (two fun Nintendo cameos among several exciting references/nods in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie), Peach and Toad encounter Fox McCloud, a Han Solo-type space rogue (and lover of barrel rolls) who agrees to take them in his Arwing to Planet Bowser.
Eventually reuniting with Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi, Fox quickly becomes part of the main cast in the second half of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and the mission to rescue Princess Rosalina. If one were to do the math, it’s safe to say that Fox McCloud has just as much screen time as Rosalina (if not more).
Combined with the fact that Top Gun: Maverick’s Glen Powell was cast to voice Fox, it absolutely makes sense that Nintendo would want to reveal the character/actor as a final marketing push ahead of the sequel’s release.
Is Nintendo Building Toward A Star Fox Movie Franchise?
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s post-credits scenes are also worth mentioning when it comes to Star Fox’s Fox McCloud. After all, the mid-credits scene revealed that Princess Rosalina repaired Fox’s Arwing, allowing him to return home to the Lylat system and his friends on Team Star Fox, perfectly opening the door for Nintendo to launch a future Star Fox movie franchise.
As a fun aside, it’s been revealed that Glenn Powell pitched himself as Fox McCloud in the hopes that Nintendo would one day do a Star Fox movie, not knowing that they were already talking about including the character in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. When you take a major Hollywood star, their own personal passion for the character, and the positive reception of said character in this latest Mario sequel, kicking off a spin-off definitely feels like a no-brainer.
It’s also not hard to imagine that Nintendo is likely discussing the potential for a full-on Super Smash Bros. crossover movie in the future considering the current fan hype around the potential idea, especially after The Super Mario Galaxy movie and all of its various Nintendo character appearances from the Super Mario franchise and beyond (like Fox).
At any rate, it’s more than likely that we haven’t seen the last of Glen Powell’s Fox McCloud and the Star Fox franchise on the big-screen, especially with Fox’s role in The Super Mario Galaxy movie being much more than a cameo.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is now playing in theaters from Illumination and Nintendo.
- Release Date
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April 1, 2026
- Runtime
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98 Minutes
- Director
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Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc, Fabien Polack
- Writers
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Matthew Fogel
- Producers
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Chris Meledandri, Shigeru Miyamoto