The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doesn’t just end — it plants flags. Nintendo and Illumination’s animated sequel closes with both a mid-credits and a post-credits scene, and each one is a very deliberate piece of table-setting for what could come next. One tease points straight at a potential Star Fox future, while the other finally brings a long-requested Mario mainstay into the film universe.
Below is a spoiler-heavy breakdown of both credits scenes, what they mean, and why they matter for the next phase of Nintendo’s big-screen ambitions.
The mid-credits scene: Fox McCloud checks in on Bowser (and Dry Bowser)
The mid-credits sequence takes place in a Mushroom Kingdom prison, and it’s framed like a quick “where are they now?” stinger after the movie’s status quo reset. By the time the main story wraps, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad are back home, Princess Rosalina has been freed and reunited with her Luma family, and Bowser and Bowser Jr. have been punished for their latest cosmic-scale mess.
Then the mid-credits scene pivots to the fallout: Fox McCloud (voiced by Glen Powell) appears in conversation with a Toad correctional officer about the incarceration of Bowser and Bowser Jr. The big headline detail here is that Bowser is now Dry Bowser while serving time — a visual punchline that also functions as a very Mario-style “consequences” button on the villain’s arc.
From there, the scene leans into banter between the Koopa father and son, and then Fox does the thing that makes this stinger feel less like a gag and more like a directional sign: he says goodbye and heads off on his own adventure.
That last beat is the tell. Fox isn’t just a cameo who drops in and disappears — the movie goes out of its way to show him leaving the Mario cast behind and continuing onward. Nintendo and Illumination haven’t officially announced what’s next after The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, but this is exactly the kind of “character exits frame toward their own franchise” move that studios use when they want audiences to start connecting dots.
Lumalee’s return: a dark joke, not a plot hinge
The mid-credits scene also includes Lumalee, the nihilistic Luma who stole scenes in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Here, Lumalee reappears as a sadistic prison guard obsessed with death, played purely for laughs.
It’s fan service, yes — but it’s also a reminder of what this sequel is comfortable being: a fast, candy-coated ride that prioritizes gags and references, sometimes at the expense of deeper story cohesion. That’s been a recurring theme in early critical reactions, which have been notably mixed, with several reviews calling out the movie’s breakneck pace and heavy reliance on Easter eggs.
The post-credits scene: Princess Daisy arrives (and she doesn’t need dialogue to make noise)
Yes, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has a post-credits scene — and it’s the bigger of the two teases.
This coda returns to the Gateway Galaxy, a location tied to earlier events where Peach and Toad encounter Fox McCloud (and even Pikmin) during the film. The post-credits moment itself is simple, almost silent… and that’s the point. An Ukiki is shown stealing from a Gateway Galaxy visitor again, only to be abruptly stopped — walloped by the lace-gloved hand of Princess Daisy.
Daisy doesn’t speak. But the visual language is unmistakable: this is a character introduction designed to trigger immediate recognition and speculation. Nintendo and Illumination are effectively saying, “You know who this is. You know what this means.”
Why Daisy is a big deal for a third movie
Daisy’s arrival is a major development for two reasons:
She’s a core Mario character who’s been conspicuously absent from the films until now.
Daisy debuted in 1989’s Super Mario Land on the Game Boy, as the princess of Sarasaland — an empire spanning four kingdoms distinct from the Mushroom Kingdom. That’s not just trivia; it’s worldbuilding fuel. Sarasaland is an easy way to expand the movie series outward without repeating the Mushroom Kingdom/Bowser loop again.Her origin is already “space-adjacent,” which fits the Galaxy direction.
In Super Mario Land, Daisy is kidnapped by Tatanga, an evil space alien. Tatanga has had little presence in Mario games beyond that original debut, but the Galaxy movie has already shown it’s willing to pull from deep cuts (it includes Wart, for example). If Nintendo and Illumination want a third film that keeps the cosmic scale while introducing a new corner of the Mario world, Daisy is a clean on-ramp.
And yes, Daisy’s inclusion is also a win for the specific subset of Nintendo fans who have been lobbying for her to get more spotlight for years. This tease is basically the studio acknowledging that demand — and doing it in the most “movie franchise” way possible.
Anya Taylor-Joy wants the princess team-up
Daisy’s tease also dovetails with what Anya Taylor-Joy (voice of Princess Peach) has said she wants from the future of these movies: a princess-forward team-up.
“I want badass girls saving the world,” Taylor-Joy said in an interview. “We’re all there, training together. I want all the girls together: three princesses taking care of business.”
That quote lands differently once you’ve seen the post-credits scene. The movie doesn’t just introduce Daisy — it introduces her with a hit-first energy that suggests she’s not coming in to stand politely in the background. If Nintendo and Illumination do move toward a third Mario movie, the credits scene is practically begging for Peach + Rosalina + Daisy to share the spotlight.
What the credits scenes suggest about Nintendo’s movie strategy (and what they don’t)
It’s tempting to see Fox McCloud and Daisy and immediately jump to “Nintendo Cinematic Universe” endgame — especially because The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is already packed with cross-IP cameos, including Pikmin and ROB, and because Fox’s presence is the kind of crossover Nintendo usually reserves for Super Smash Bros.
But Nintendo’s leadership has pushed back on the idea that this is all building toward an Avengers-style mega-crossover. Shigeru Miyamoto has said he doesn’t think you’ll see a situation where all Nintendo characters join together in one film. And Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri has described their approach as less “ten-year plan on a wall” and more “what would be fun in this scene?” — with Miyamoto acting as a key judge of what feels right.
That matters when you interpret the credits scenes:
- The Fox McCloud mid-credits tease could be a spin-off breadcrumb… but it’s not an official announcement. It’s a door left open.
- The Daisy post-credits tease feels more like a direct “next Mario movie” setup, because it adds a major Mario character to the core cast ecosystem rather than pointing outward to another franchise.
In other words: one stinger expands sideways, the other expands inward.
Release context: why these teases are landing right now
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opens theatrically on April 1, 2026, and it’s arriving with a fascinating split between critics and commercial momentum.
Early reviews have been mixed, with some critics praising the spectacle and game-faithful visuals while others slam the movie as frenetic, thinly plotted, or overly reliant on references. Even so, box office tracking suggests Nintendo and Illumination are about to print money again: analysts have projected around $350 million worldwide across the five-day Easter weekend, with an expected $175 million domestic opening. (Japan’s release is later, on April 24.)
That context is important because credits scenes aren’t just storytelling — they’re marketing. When a sequel is positioned to dominate the box office regardless of critical consensus, the smartest play is to end with hooks that keep the conversation going. Fox and Daisy do exactly that: they turn the ending into a speculation engine.
And if the movie really is, as some reviews suggest, a “theme park ride” of set pieces and cameos, then the credits scenes are the final ride photo — the part everyone talks about on the way out of the theater.
What Remains Unknown
- Will Fox McCloud actually lead a Star Fox spin-off movie? No official announcement has been made.
- Who will voice Princess Daisy? The tease is silent, and no casting has been confirmed.
- Is Tatanga being set up as a future villain? Daisy’s origin points there naturally, but the movie does not confirm it.
- Are Nintendo and Illumination building toward a Smash Bros.-style crossover film? Nintendo leadership has explicitly downplayed the idea of an all-in team-up movie, and no such project has been announced.
- How big is Fox McCloud’s long-term role? The mid-credits exit suggests more to come, but the scope is unconfirmed.
