The Super Mario Galaxy Movie arrived in the US theaters on April 1, 2026, carrying the gravitational pull of both Illumination and Nintendo. As a cosmic expansion of 2023’s box office juggernaut, it launches Mario and company into orbit, literally. Yet for a franchise of this magnitude, a mixed reception means turbulence, especially when the casting itself became a story, with Glen Powell among those actively chasing a seat on the starship.

There is something almost old-Hollywood about it, actors not waiting for roles, but pursuing them with missionary zeal.

Before the sequel had even formalized its expanded universe ambitions, Illumination began receiving an unusual kind of outreach, unsolicited, passionate pitches from actors including Glen Powell, who saw Nintendo as a legacy. Powell’s approach stood out because it aligned uncannily with conversations already happening internally about bringing the Star Fox universe into the Mario fold through Fox McCloud.

“When we were working on the first movie, we began to get phone calls from actors,” Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri told Forbes. 

“They started communicating their enthusiasm. After the first movie was done, there were two phone calls that came from actors expressing incredible conviction and passion about being involved with Nintendo, and one of them was from Glen Powell..”he said.

The character, a cornerstone of Super Smash Bros., represents Nintendo’s interstellar mythology, making Powell's arrival in a Mario film both ambitious and risky. He was not alone in his pursuit, though.

Donald Glover also reached out post-release of the first film, declaring, “I will do the most incredible Yoshi.” And in an industry often driven by availability, here was passion dictating placement.

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But casting ambition cannot always outpace narrative cohesion.

If the film’s voice cast reads like a wish list, its reception reads like a cautionary tale. Much like The Super Mario Bros. movie before, critics remain divided, only this time, less forgiving. Early scores paint a stark picture: a significantly lower critical consensus, with reviewers circling the same gravitational flaw, the story simply does not hold together.

Publications were blunt. The Guardian dismissed it as a “bland screensaver,” while The Independent echoed the sentiment with faint praise. Even harsher were industry outlets like Variety and The Wrap, which critiqued its lack of cinematic depth. Yet the divide persists.

Gaming-centric outlets such as IGN and Game Informer offered more tempered takes, praising its visual ambition and dense layering of Easter eggs, from Rosalina’s observatory callbacks to Luma constellations that mirror Super Mario Galaxy itself. And then there is the familiar dissonance: critics versus audiences. The 2023 film thrived despite lukewarm reviews, crossing $1.2 billion globally.

This sequel appears poised for a similar commercial trajectory, even as its metascore dips into unfavorable territory. For younger viewers, it is spectacle; for longtime fans, it is recognition; for critics, it is a question of substance. In the end, the conversation circles back to Glen Powell, not just as a casting choice, but as a symbol of something rarer: actors chasing mythologies they grew up on. Whether that passion translates on screen is another matter entirely.

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So where do you stand, did Glen Powell’s Fox McCloud elevate the film, or is this galaxy spinning too fast to stay grounded? Share your take.