There's So Many Nintendo Spinoffs The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Could Set Up Now

The surprise character reveal a week ahead of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s theatrical release only adds to the many spinoff possibilities promised by the film’s story. A new poster for the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie confirms the theory that Fox McCloud of Star Fox fame will have some sort of role in Mario and Luigi’s upcoming adventure.

Fox McCloud joins an already impressive cast of characters for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. In addition to its core group, the movie will add to the equation Yoshi, Rosalina, Bowser Jr., and Birdo. And in a surprising development, the movie will also include an appearance from the long-missing Super Mario Bros. 2 boss, Wart.

Pulling together everything that’s known so far, the movie is a recipe for a great deal of fan service. But putting all these characters into the film can lead to a lot more than just Easter eggs, as there’s also real potential for some intriguing spinoffs.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s Character Lineup Further Sets Up A Super Smash Bros. Movie

The most obvious route to take, of course, is a super-sized Nintendo crossover in the form of a Super Smash Bros. movie. There was already some talk of that after The Super Mario Bros. Movie saw worlds collide via the Super Mario franchise and the Donkey Kong Country games. And now, the sequel is adding another foundational element of the fighting game series by adding in Fox McCloud.

Like Donkey Kong, Mario, Yoshi, and Luigi, Fox is one of the franchise’s 12 original fighters. No big-screen adaptation of Super Smash Bros. would feel complete without him present. Fox compounds that setup, but in a much bigger way than Donkey Kong ever could.

Because while Donkey Kong and Mario have already intersected in other ways outside of Super Smash Bros., Mario and Fox are linked together primarily by their involvement in that particular Nintendo franchise. The same can be said for Mario’s connection to two other characters confirmed by teasers to be showing up in the 2026 film – Pikmin and R.O.B.

Introduced as a toy robot, R.O.B functioned as a controller for the NES. He faded from relevance after 1985 before being revived as a fighter for Super Smash Bros, starting with its entry on the Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For that reason, most who recognize R.O.B. in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will know him strictly from that franchise.

Other Spinoffs The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Could Set Up

an image of Luigi trying to hold a door closed with ghosts behind it in Luigi's Mansion — an image of Luigi trying to hold a door closed with ghosts behind it in Luigi’s Mansion

A Super Smash Bros. movie may be the endgame, but is far from the only project that could come about as a result of what happens in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Before Nintendo and Illumination get to that point, they could give Fox McCloud a solo adventure. He has his own supporting cast, and plenty of source material to work with.

There’s also the matter of the Pikmin. The plant-like creatures star in their own video game series, with an alien named Olibu as the main character. Olibu’s adventures on other planets and interactions with the Pikmin could easily be used as the starting point for a standalone story.

Another option pertains to Yoshi. Based on the inclusion of Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will incorporate into the plot his most famous outing, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, but plenty of other story concepts will remain on the table, given that Yoshi occupies his own video game franchise, with Kamek and Baby Bowser as his main antagonists.

If Yoshi becomes a hit with audiences, he could battle Kamek in a solo movie, with Bowser Jr. possibly serving as a replacement for Baby Bowser.

Some spinoffs could be directly set up by The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s ending. For instance, various hints in the marketing, and the previous film, suggest that Toad will become Captain Toad, a character who leads two of his own video games. And the Magic Paintbrush, the weapon that Bowser Jr., will wield in the movie, is known to be a creation of Professor E. Gadd in the games.

Professor E. Gadd is one of the principal characters in the Luigi’s Mansion series, as well as the inventor of the highly advanced vacuum cleaner that Luigi uses to suck up ghosts. A lab spotted in the final trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie looks suspiciously like E. Gadd’s, so it’s not impossible that he’ll be on hand.

If he is, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will have the framework necessary for Professor E. Gadd-Luigi partnership in a Luigi’s Mansion movie.

Nintendo Spinoffs After The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Are Certainly Possible

The Toads together in Captain Toad Treasure Tracker

With a Legend of Zelda movie in development, it’s apparent that Nintendo does indeed have plans that go beyond Mario and Luigi when it comes to making movies. Plus, there are reports that a Donkey Kong movie is in the works, which would make it a direct product of The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s success.

Evidently, there would certainly be a willingness to use The Super Mario Galaxy Movie as a springboard for spinoffs about other characters adjacent to Mario. It’s not hard to imagine Nintendo and Illumination pursuing movies focused on Yoshi, Fox McCloud, or Luigi.

Some of its lower-profile franchises, like Pikmin and Captain Toad, on the other hand, may feel less like prime candidates for movie adaptations. But with more and more movie franchises looking to streaming for TV spinoffs, it won’t be a shock if Nintendo and Illumination ultimately opt for that route too.

Such a format could be a perfect alternative to a Star Fox movie, as it could allow for a more episodic storyline where Fox and his crew go on various missions in the galaxy, battling the likes of Andross and Wolf and meeting Krystal.

It could also work for characters like Captain Toad and the Pikmin, whose stories could widen Nintendo’s cinematic universe ahead of a possible Avengers-level crossover, ala Super Smash Bros. Whether this happens or not, there’s no shortage of possibilities that will be available to Nintendo in the near future, thanks to everything that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will inevitably put on the table.