Glen Powell’s Future Star Fox Movie Can Break Illumination’s 16 Year Mold

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After Glen Powell was cast as Fox McCloud for the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy Movie, fans immediately started hoping for a dedicated Star Fox film. Fox McCloud is a beloved Nintendo character and many believe his story would translate well to the big screen.

I was really excited to see Fox in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie! He ended up being a big help to Mario and Peach as they looked for Rosalina, even giving them a ride to Bowser’s planet. Honestly, he had way more screen time than I anticipated, especially considering how late they revealed he’d be in the film. And the best part? The scene after the credits showed him going back to his own universe, with all his friends! It was a great nod to his original games.

This development increases the chances of a Star Fox movie. While Nintendo and Illumination haven’t officially announced one, many believe it’s likely to happen. Even if a movie wasn’t in the works before, the enthusiastic response to James McAvoy’s performance as Fox McCloud would likely encourage the studios to consider making one.

I’m really excited about the possibility of a Star Fox movie from Illumination! While they used their signature 3D style for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, I’ve heard rumors that Star Fox could be different. It might actually be their first time doing a full 2D animated film, which would be a huge and interesting step for the studio, and potentially a historic one!

Illumination Has Never Made A 2D Animated Movie

Illumination has always created its animated movies using 3D technology. Following the success of films like Toy Story, Hollywood has largely adopted 3D as the go-to animation style. While there are a few exceptions, most major animation studios now rely on 3D.

Things haven’t always been this way. For many years, traditional 2D animation was the standard for making movies. Companies like Walt Disney and DreamWorks built their success using this technique and constantly found new ways to improve it. However, after the release of Toy Story, which showed everyone what was possible with fully computer-animated 3D films, 3D animation quickly became the new standard.

Founded in 2007, Illumination has primarily focused on 3D animation. While they’ve occasionally used 2D elements, like the beginning of the Minions movie, they’ve never considered creating a fully 2D animated feature film.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie features a 2D animated segment that explains Fox’s history. This sequence has a distinct anime-inspired look, setting it apart from the rest of the film. Because it shows Fox’s home world – separate from the main Super Mario universe – it opens the door for a potential Star Fox movie to use this same animation style.

Star Fox’s Movie Being A 2D Anime Would Make It Even More Exciting

It’s not certain Illumination will create a Star Fox movie with the same 2D style as that short clip. They’ve already developed a 3D character model for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and they might choose to stick with that style to ensure all their films have a consistent look and feel.

However, Illumination shouldn’t just copy what others are doing. It would be much more interesting if they created a Star Fox movie using the same 2D anime style they briefly showcased in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. They’ve already brought on Benjamin Faure, known for his work on Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen, to design the visuals for Fox’s home world, and giving him full creative control over an entire movie in that style would be fantastic.

For a long time, animated movies looked very similar, but Hollywood is now experimenting with more varied and distinctive styles, as seen in films like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. While Illumination, the studio behind films like Minions, hasn’t fully embraced this trend yet, their upcoming Star Fox movie offers a great opportunity to try something new and visually different.

This could be an opportunity for Illumination to explore new creative directions and gauge audience interest. Given the existing fanbase a Star Fox movie would attract, it would be the ideal project to experiment with a 2D anime style – especially as it would fit naturally with the universe and Fox McCloud’s return.

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2026-05-01 00:58