Nintendo has confirmed with its latest poster that the hero of Star Fox, Fox McCloud, will be present in the “Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” Excitement is soaring following the news, which came less than a week before Wednesday’s nationwide release.

The space pilot Fox McCloud is not from the “Super Mario” franchise, but from his own line of rail shooters called “Star Fox.” His games feature epic spaceship battles as you defend the galaxy alongside your crew of fighter pilots, Star Fox, so ideally, his character will fit right in as Mario and friends explore the galaxy in the new movie. However, Fox is equally famous for his longtime status as a fan-favorite on the character select screen of Nintendo’s platform fighting franchise, “Super Smash Bros.”  

Nintendo and Illumination, the animation studio behind the original film and the upcoming sequel, have already announced that Pikmin from the titular franchise will also be present in the film in their latest teaser trailer. Many fans have been speculating–even before this latest announcement–that Nintendo plans to create its own cinematic universe, akin to Marvel or DC film series, like featuring all their legendary IPs seen in “Super Smash Bros.”  

In 2022, Nintendo took its first steps into the film and television industry when it acquired CG and motion graphics production company Dynamo Pictures Inc., now known as Nintendo Pictures Ltd., to create visual content for video games, anime films and television series.  

 In 2025, Nintendo Pictures created its first-ever in-house film, “Close to You,” a CGI “Pikmin” short. The “Legend of Zelda” movie, deep in production and slated for a 2027 release, proves Nintendo is a series on branching away from video games and into more entertainment mediums. Is their success written in the stars, or will Nintendo fly too close to the sun with this new venture?