Nintendo legend had "high hopes" for a Star Fox movie, and after today's Super Mario Galaxy Movie reveal he's full of gratitude: "Thank you, Miyamoto-san"

Fox McCloud will appear in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, as revealed in a new poster for the film. With the appearance of the Star Fox hero, fan speculation is rampant over the possibilities of a Super Smash. Bros movie, but there's one person who's arguably more excited for Fox's appearance than anybody else: Takaya Imamura, the legendary Nintendo designer who created the character in the first place.

"Overwhelmed with emotion," Imamura says in a tweet machine translated from Japanese. "Thank you, Miyamoto-san." You don't need any translation for the five sobbing emojis that accompany the message.

Imamura has been dreaming of this moment for a long time. Back in 2024, well after the release of the previous Mario film, Imamura told us in an interview that he had "high hopes that the next one will be a Star Fox movie." He had even spoken to Shigeru Miyamoto directly, saying that if a Star Fox movie happens, he wants to be part of it. Even then, Imamura said, "I wouldn't be surprised if they've already got a plan in place" for Star Fox to hit the silver screen.

Imamura worked at Nintendo from 1989 through 2021, and is most notable for designing the characters of Star Fox and F-Zero, and leading the art direction for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. While he's now independent, working on projects like the indie adventure game Omega 6: The Triangle Stars, it's clear he still has plenty of love for the work he did at Nintendo.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie releases on April 1. For now, you can check out our guide to all the upcoming video game movies you need to know about.