Video game movies are notorious for not being well received by the general public, but in recent years, there have been some notable exceptions. For instance, last year’s Sonic the Hedgehog not only did fairly well for itself critically, but also became the highest-grossing domestic video game film adaptation. Three months after Sonic’s theatrical run kicked off, Paramount Pictures announced a sequel was in development, and now Ben Schwartz, the voice of the blue speedster, has given an update on how far along Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has gotten.
While promoting his new movie, Disney+’s Flora & Ulysses, Ben Schwartz briefly informed with ComicBookMovie about Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s current status with the following:
I believe Sonic starts filming in the next few months, I’m not quite sure when, but I know it’s coming up, and I was able to read a script and it’s gonna be great!
As things stand now, Ben Schwartz is in the middle of shooting The Afterparty, an Apple TV+ series hailing from the minds of The LEGO Movie duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Schwartz will shoot the second season of Netflix’s Space Force soon after, so he has a ways to go before he reprises Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s unclear how involved Schwartz will be in principal photography given how he voices the character and provides facial motion capture, but nevertheless, the actor sounds jazzed about what the sequel has lined up.
No plot details for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 have been revealed yet, although it will involve the titular protagonist still spending more time with James Marsden’s Tom Wachowski and Taika Sumpter’s Maddie Wachowski, who welcomed the hedgehog into their family at the end of the first movie. That said, not only is Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik determined to return to Earth after being imprisoned on a mushroom planet, but Sonic the Hedgehog’s mid-credits scene showed Tails emerging from a ring portal to find Sonic. Between that, plus rumors of Knuckles the Echidna showing up, there are a lot of different directions Sonic 2 could go.
For now, Sonic the Hedgehog fans can take comfort knowing that the sequel is slated for an April 8, 2022 theatrical release, with Jeff Fowler reprising his directing duties, and Pat Casey and Josh Miller having written the screenplay. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is also using the working title Emerald Hill, which is a reference to the first level in the 1992 video game Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Obviously we’ll keep you apprised on how the sequel movie is coming along as more news trickles in.
In addition to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, 2022 will also see the release of an animated series called Sonic Prime on Netflix. So fans of this video game franchise has a lot to look forward to next year. Those of you more interested in what’s coming up in the near future are welcome to look through our 2021 release schedule.
