‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Cinematic Universe Won’t Exactly Follow the Games in Order
Now that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is just around the corner, the film franchise’s creators are looking ahead to the future. According to producer Toby Ascher, this next Sonic film is only the start of a greater cinematic universe that Paramount has planned for the Blue Blur and his cohorts. As for what fans can expect from this cinematic universe, director Jeff Fowler teased that future installments will pull from a variety of Sonic video games.
Paramount is building a ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ cinematic universe
The first live-action Sonic the Hedgehog film in 2020 followed the titular super-fast blue hero (voiced by Ben Schwartz) as he attempted to stop the evil doings of Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey). Sonic goes up against Dr. Robotnik once again in the sequel. However, he has help from Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) this time, while Knuckles (Idris Elba) teams up with the mad scientist.
In a statement ahead of Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s reviews (per VGC), Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2 producer Toby Ascher revealed that the franchise already has plans to go way bigger than two films.
“We’re creating a Sonic cinematic universe, so we knew we were going to add characters, like Tails and Knuckles; new to the films but beloved by gamers all over the world,” Ascher said.
Ascher’s statement comes just weeks after Sega and Paramount announced Sonic the Hedgehog 3, as well as a Knuckles TV show. Paramount has yet to provide release dates for these projects, but they are apparently already in development. Giant Freakin Robot also reported on a rumored Tails solo film, although that is unconfirmed.
Director Jeff Fowler says upcoming ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ films won’t follow the games chronologically
As the Sonic the Hedgehog cinematic universe continues to grow, it may not always follow the video games in such a linear fashion. Jeff Fowler — who made his directorial debut with the Sonic movies — touched on what the future of the franchise may hold.
“It’s not always going to be a linear progression of like ‘Oh, this was in Sonic 2, so it’s going to be in the Sonic 2 film’. It’s going to be a little bit of a cherry-picking, a little bit of a melting pot,” Fowler told IGN. “There’s so much great, inspiring imagery to pull from the 30 years of games. So if we didn’t get it in one film, there’s always the chance that we’ll revisit it somewhere else.”
That’s already happening with Sonic the Hedgehog 3. While Fowler couldn’t tease much, he did say that some Sonic 2 elements will be better suited for the third movie.
“It’s also exciting for the fans to not know what’s going to come in where rather than just knowing we’re going down a checklist from A to B to C to D,” he added.
‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ pulls from other games in the Sonic franchise
Even in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, fans might notice elements from games beyond Sonic 2. For example, The Labyrinth Zone serves as a callback to the original Sonic game. Fowler said it didn’t really fit to have this zone in the first movie.
“It was a road trip, so it would have been strange for them to find themselves in a labyrinth,” Fowler explained. “But I always loved that visual, so we kind of brought that into this.”
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hits theaters on April 8. Stay tuned to Showbiz Cheat Sheet for more updates.
