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Credit: Universal Pictures
SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. If you have not yet seen the film proceed at your own risk (or check out CinemaBlend’s spoiler-free review)
In the run-up to the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the response has already proven to be exceptionally divisive. Critics have panned the sequel, many pointing to its prioritizing of fan service over storytelling, while early general audiences have applauded it as fun and for Nintendo-lovers. It’s clear that different people are looking for different things from the new 2026 movie, but I am thinking there is common ground to be mined. Specifically, I think we can all agree that Fox McCloud, long rumored to be in the movie and voiced by Glen Powell, is the best thing about the film. Putting him front and center in the immediate future of the Nintendo franchise would be the best possible decision.
The Bowsers may now be under lock and key, and the sequel’s post-credits scene teases a future with Princess Daisy joining fellow Princesses Peach and Rosalina in the big screen canon. But after his scene-stealing part in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Fox McCloud should next feel the glow of the spotlight in a Star Fox spinoff.
Credit: Nintendo
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Performs A Speed Run Of Everything You Need To Know About Star Fox
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doesn’t offer much in the way of character development for its main collection of protagonists, but the film does take a brief moment to give Fox McCloud a proper introduction, and it’s the most exciting thing that happens in the movie. With the swagger that made him so popular in both Top Gun: Maverick and Twister, Glen Powell delivers a killer monologue about the ace pilot’s history, his team (including Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare and Falco Lombardi), and his deep love for performing barrel rolls. It’s a preview that’s also a tease, and it does a lot of heavy lifting in advance of the franchise potentially further exploring the character’s world.
On top of all that, the flashback features an awesome stylistic change (which would be amazing to see explored more), and perhaps most importantly of all, a door is left wide open for an adventure at the end of the movie.
Credit: Illumination
Fox McCloud Is On His Way Back Home, But He’ll Need To Find A Wormhole To Get Back To His Universe
At the end of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Fox does Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach and Toad one last favor by transporting the Bowsers to prison, but the next stop for him is traveling home… and it’s not entirely clear how easy that will be for him. He didn’t exactly fall through a wormhole on purpose, and while it’s possible in-canon that wormholes are everywhere and easy to find, it might also be a major challenge that takes him on a wild journey through the cosmos.
Either way, one would think audiences would win: either Fox quickly gets back to his home universe, rejoins his team, and finds a new battle against a classic foe (like Andross or Wolf O’Donnell), or he ends up on a life-changing trip to find his way back to his friends and loved ones. The story opportunities are really limitless after what has been set up.
While we keep our fingers crossed waiting for news from Nintendo and Illumination Entertainment that a Star Fox spinoff is a go, audiences can go see him in action in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in theaters now.