A meeting between a Hollywood star and a Nintendo legend

Glen Powell, who has established himself as a top Hollywood actor with 'Top Gun: Maverick' and 'Twisters', has been confirmed to play the role of Star Fox, or Fox McCloud, in the 'Super Mario Galaxy' movie.

Powell released a video of himself running through a theater full of 'Super Mario Galaxy' movie posters on his Instagram. In the video, he shows off a sleeveless jacket emblazoned with the Star Fox logo and captioned it "Born to Barrel Roll," adding star and fox emojis.

Why is this casting important?

Star Fox is an iconic Nintendo character that first appeared on the Super Famicom (SNES) in 1993. As a hero who leads a team of anthropomorphic space animals to fight against the evil scientist Andros, he has appeared as a playable character in all 'Super Smash Bros.' series. It is a natural choice for him to appear in the 'Galaxy' movie set in space.

With this casting, speculation among fans that Nintendo is preparing a 'Super Smash Bros.' crossover movie is gaining further strength. This is because the appearance of Star Fox could be a signal for the expansion of the Nintendo universe.

Super luxurious casting lineup

The 'Super Mario Galaxy' movie has already secured a stellar cast. Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black, who played in the previous film, return, and new members including Donald Glover, Brie Larson, Issa Rae, and Luis Guzman have joined. With the addition of Powell, the casting power was further strengthened.

Powell is currently one of the most notable actors in Hollywood, and has proven his blockbuster sense by appearing in box office hits such as 'Anyone But You' and 'Running Man'.

Anticipation is rising ahead of opening on April 1st

As the movie is scheduled to be released on April 1, the exact role of Star Fox has not yet been revealed. However, Nintendo and Universal's hiring of Powell appears to be a strategy to raise fans' expectations before release.

The previous ‘Super Mario Bros.’ movie earned $1.3 billion (approximately 1.7 trillion won) at the worldwide box office, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time. With expectations for the sequel so high, the addition of Star Fox is expected to be another gift to fans.