Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Pikmin, is also a known Pikmin lover. That guy is always gassing up the little fellas, and he recently admitted to us that he’s on a mission to put Pikmin into absolutely every Nintendo thing he can.

This comes from an interview we conducted at the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, Japan, ahead of the release of the Super Mario Galaxy Movie. We spoke to Miyamoto and Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri about the film’s creation and the partnership between Illumination and Nintendo. In the interview, we pointed out that Pikmin appear in the Super Mario Galaxy movie, and asked Miyamoto if this was something he requested personally. And it sounds like Miyamoto takes this very, very seriously:

“Now I wouldn’t say a request,” he said. “More like a mission. I’m on a mission to try to include Pikmin in any kind of Nintendo product we put up. And obviously Pikmin can be appearing anywhere, but the idea, the setting of Galaxy really lends itself to having Pikmin be there as part of the world. And so I was waiting in anticipation for what kind of ideas came from illumination.”

This explains a lot, actually. Pikmin notably appear all over Universal Studios’ Nintendo World park, and they’ve made dozens of cameos in different video games over the years like Mario Golf, Mario Kart, Mario Maker, Mario Wonder, Smash Bros., WarioWare, Animal Crossing, and so many more. Most of the time, they’re just hidden in the background or existing as part of a costume, but nonetheless they’re there, Pikmining around.

That also explains a video short Nintendo published last October that featured Pikmin moving items in a child’s nursery around. Though that doesn’t appear to have been a tease for a new Pikmin game, it does demonstrate how Miyamoto’s love of Pikmin permeates everything Nintendo does.

We spoke to Miyamoto and Meledandri about all sorts of things, including R.O.B. and other cameo appearances in the film, and why they skipped Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine and went straight to galaxy. You can read our full interview with both of them right here. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hits theaters on April 1, 2026, and you can read our review of the film here.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Brian Altano is an Executive Producer and host and also a lifelong Nintendo fan who was quietly losing his mind geeking out at all of the cool stuff at the Nintendo Museum. Did you know Nintendo made a stroller in 1965? Like, for babies? They have one there at the museum! How crazy is that!