Just one day after the surprise reveal that Fox McCloud would appear in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, we now know who’s behind the voice. In a short video posted on social media, it was confirmed that Glen Powell will voice the Star Fox ace pilot. The reveal comes less than a week before the movie hits theaters on April 1.
Powell joins a cast that already includes Brie Larson as Rosalina and Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr., along with the returning cast from The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which earned over $1.3 billion at the box office in 2023. Fox McCloud is getting his own dedicated poster and now a named voice actor, which further suggests his role in the film is more than a quick cameo.
What’s interesting to me is that Nintendo and Illumination are openly revealing Fox McCloud’s inclusion and voice actor days before the movie’s release, rather than keeping it as an in-theater surprise. That makes me wonder what they are saving for the actual movie. We already know that Pikmin, R.O.B., and Wart are in the film, so clearly Nintendo is comfortable pulling characters from across its universe. Could Kirby make a debut? Could we see Samus somewhere in the background, given that the movie is set in space? And the bigger question on everyone’s mind: is this all building toward a Super Smash Bros. movie?
The first film mostly stayed within the Mushroom Kingdom, but The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s space setting has opened the door for characters from other franchises to show up in ways that actually make sense. Fox McCloud, Pikmin, and R.O.B. are all characters fans would recognize from the Super Smash Bros. roster, and that doesn’t feel like a coincidence. If The Super Mario Galaxy Movie performs anywhere near what the first film did, I wouldn’t be surprised if a Super Smash Bros. film is already being discussed behind closed doors.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hits theaters on April 1.
