Glen Powell Lobbied for a Star Fox Movie, Got Cast as Fox McCloud Instead

When Glen Powell called Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri to lobby for a dedicated Star Fox film, he had no idea the conversation was already happening in reverse.

Powell's pitch came in the wake of The Super Mario Bros. Movie's historic $1.36 billion global gross, the highest total ever for a video game film adaptation, more than tripling Pokémon: Detective Pikachu's previous record of $450.1 million. The success triggered a wave of Hollywood calls to Illumination, with actors volunteering themselves for Nintendo roles before anyone had publicly announced a sequel.

Two calls stood out. Donald Glover rang to pitch himself as Yoshi. Powell called to make what Meledandri later described as a passionate case for Fox McCloud. "He explained that we had to understand how deeply he loved the character of Fox McCloud," Meledandri said. "His dream was one day to be part of a Star Fox movie. I'm listening to this going, 'He has no idea that Miyamoto-san and I are talking about Star Fox being in this new movie,' and Glen is expressing this passion for this."

The idea to include Star Fox in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie had originated with screenplay writer Matthew Fogel, a detail confirmed by Shigeru Miyamoto, the Nintendo legend who created both the Mario and Star Fox franchises. Miyamoto had expected significant internal resistance at Nintendo to the concept of mixing its separate IPs in a Mario film, but the idea landed better than anticipated. He cited the film's space setting as a key reason the inclusion made narrative sense.

Meledandri called Powell back, offered him the Fox McCloud role, and asked him to keep it quiet. Sharp-eyed fans eventually spotted what appeared to be Fox's leg in an early trailer before any official announcement, but the casting held until weeks before the film's April 1 opening. Fox McCloud plays a sizable role in the film, not a brief cameo.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, directed by returning filmmakers Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic on a reported $110 million budget, premiered at the Minami-za theater in Kyoto on March 28, 2026, then opened wide in the United States on April 1. It set the biggest opening day of 2026 with $34.5 million domestically, added $24.6 million on April 2, and is tracking toward a $188 million to $200 million five-day domestic run, with a global opening weekend around $370 million. The film earned an A CinemaScore, matching the first movie exactly.

Returning cast members Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, and Keegan-Michael Key are joined by newcomers Brie Larson as Rosalina, Issa Rae as Honey Queen, Luis Guzmán as Wart, Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr., Glover as Yoshi, and Powell as Fox McCloud.

Star Fox debuted on the Super Nintendo in 1993 and has sat largely dormant since Star Fox Zero in 2016. A franchise that went nearly a decade without a mainline entry now has a built-in audience reintroduced through a film tracking toward $370 million globally in its opening weekend. The business case for a standalone adaptation has effectively been field-tested in the most expensive way possible. Both Miyamoto and Meledandri have since hinted at exactly that possibility, with Miyamoto stating his interest in "what a movie about Star Fox might be like." Powell wanted that film badly enough to cold-call the CEO of Illumination. At the current trajectory, he may get one.