A Classic Nintendo Hero Will Appear in ‘Super Mario Galaxy’

It’s called The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, but this thing is looking more and more like the start of a Nintendo Cinematic Universe.

The first Super Mario Bros. animated movie mostly limited its character roster to the lineup of Nintendo icons who appear in just that franchise — although Donkey Kong showed up for a bit too. (If we want to get really technical and put on our pocket protectors and adjust the tape on the bridge of our glasses, Mario debuted in the original Donkey Kong game, so really he is a part of the same integrated game world.)

But the new poster for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doesn’t have any of the Mario characters on it. Instead it spotlights Fox McCloud, the protagonist of the Star Fox franchise of Nintendo games.

See for yourself.

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Star Fox debuted on the Super Nintendo back in 1993; the most recent new game in the series was Star Fox Zero for the Wii U. The games are typically rail shooters where you pilot Fox’s Arwing ship on various missions. But Fox and other Star Fox characters have appeared in other Nintendo games, most notably the fighting franchise Super Smash Bros., where Fox, his buddy Falco, and his nemesis Wolf, have all been playable characters over the years.

If Star Fox is on the table, that is surely going to get Nintendo nerds’ juices flowing about the other potential characters who could cameo in this or in future Mario movies. Because you know there will be future Mario movies. The first film grossed more than $1.3 billion worldwide, and this one is looking like it could easily match it at the box office.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opens in theaters on April 1.