Sonic the Hedgehog didn’t have an easy time racing from consoles to movie theaters. Before the release of 2020’s self-titled film, Sega’s famous speeding hedgehog had spent almost thirty years trying to break onto the big screen.
Talk of a feature film first started in 1993, two years after the hedgehog’s video game debut and when viewers discovered his exploits on TV in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. But the Blue Blur platform jumped between several studios before Paramount landed the film rights in 2017, and he finally reached the homestretch.
But there were still a few obstacles in the road. A well-publicized redesign of the hedgehog brought the film all the wrong kind of publicity in 2019, just seven months before its release. Some quick updates did wonders, and the film emerged to a mixed reception but an impressive worldwide gross of over $319 million.
Sonic’s feature debut was more than an excuse to sneak gold rings into Paramount’s famous logo. The film built on some of the alien antics developed in Sonic’s earlier TV show but added a fair bit extra to his legend. The hedgehog gained a tragic superhero origin and became a universe-crossing alien arrival himself. Fortunately, the film’s mix of jokes and surprisingly emotional moments won many moviegoers over. It even tugged on the heartstrings when the blue Hedgehog talked to himself.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 arrives next year
The film’s reception justified its mid-credit teaser, introducing one of Sonic’s well-known sidekicks. When Sonic the Hedgehog 2 arrives in movie theaters in April 2022, we can expect to meet more characters from Sega’s legendary platformer.
Many of the 2020 film’s cast are returning for the sequel, including the fun double act of Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic and James Marsden’s cop Tom “Donut Lord” Wachowski. They’ll be joined by Jim Carrey, returning for a rare sequel as Sonic’s arch-enemy Dr. Robotnik.
No one doubted Robotnik’s “psychological tire fire” would fail to escape the predicament he found himself in at the end of the first film. The signs are that the Eggman’s time away from Earth has led him to discover the Chaos Emeralds familiar from the video games. The good news is that Sonic will have even more support this time. His pal Tails will be spinning back after arriving on Earth in the first film’s mid-credit sequence. In December 2021, Colleen O’Shaughnessey confirmed that she will be returning as the voice of the two-tailed fox. In August 2021, Idris Elba revealed that he’ll be voicing one of the franchise’s most popular supporting characters, Knuckles the Echidna. The trailer suggests his character arc will follow the video games, which means trouble for Sonic.
Here’s the full cast list for Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Voice cast
Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog
Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Miles ‘Tails’ Prower the Fox
Idris Elba as Knuckles the Echidna.
Live-action cast
Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik.
James Marsden as Tom Wachowski.
Tika Sumpter as Maddie Wachowski.
Lee Majdoub as Agent Stone.
Natasha Rothwell as Rachel.
Adam Pally as Wade.
New cast members
Ted Barba as Frail Priest.
Shemar Moore in an undisclosed role.
Andrew Kyrzyk as Dancer.
Antwan Eilish as Nick.
Vladimir Raiman as Bartender.
Nicholas Dohy Seattle Passerby (uncredited).
Leighton Hara as Hotel Guest (uncredited).
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is scheduled to race into movie theaters on April 8, 2022.