It was only a matter of time before Yoshi, Rosalina, and Bowser Jr. joined the Super Mario Bros. cinematic universe (since the characters are part of the larger video game franchise anyway), but the latest addition to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is more of a surprise. Fox McCloud, the anthropomorphic fox that leads Nintendo’s Star Fox series, will appear in the upcoming sequel, hinting at a potential Super Smash Bros. movie on the horizon.
“Let’s rock and roll! Fox McCloud joins The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, only in theatres 1 April,” reads the official announcement post on X/Twitter. The confirmation comes after eagle-eyed fans theorised the space pilot could debut in the film after a blink-and-you-miss-it glimpse in a previous trailer, with the voice actor yet to be revealed.
Introduced in 1993, Fox has several titles to his name, including Star Fox 64, Star Fox: Assault, and most recently, 2017’s Star Fox 2. The character was brought into the Super Smash Bros. roster in 1999 and has been a part of every instalment since, making him one of the most popular brawlers. Fellow Smash Bros. fighter Captain Olimar, from the Pikmin games, was also teased in an earlier clip, so the link to Super Smash Bros. hardly seems like a coincidence.
Alongside returning faces from 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will see Brie Larson and Benny Safdie lending their respective voices to Rosalina and Bowser Jr., as well as Donald Glover, or Childish Gambino, as Yoshi. Chris Pratt (Mario), Charlie Day (Luigi), Jack Black (Bowser), Keegan-Michael Kay (Toad), and Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek) all reprise their roles.
Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic are back in the director’s chair, reuniting with screenwriter Matthew Fogel, and producers Chris Meledandri of Illumination and franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Plot details remain undisclosed, but the 2007 Nintendo Wii hit saw Mario on a mission to collect Power Stars across the galaxy to fuel his ship and make his way to the centre of the universe, where Peach is held captive by Bowser.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie blasts off to space on 1 April.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
