Even after Sonic The Hedgehog’s box office success firmly planted in the books, it’s kind of hard to forget that there was once a time that the movie had inspired some massive doubt. Through a massive character redesign, and the pure energy and laughter that the Paramount film exuded in its theatrical debut, the world went from fearing Sonic to wanting a sequel. It didn’t take long for that process to kick into gear, and now we have our first look at the trailer for the simply titled Sonic The Hedgehog 2, which only heightens the excitement of this forthcoming sequel.
Released by Paramount during this year’s Game Awards, out first look at Sonic the Hedgehog 2 sees its title protagonist using his super speed to protect Earth, only he's been getting reckless stopping bad guys. Well, he'll need to get in a more proper frame of mind quick, as Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik is back, and not only is he still boasting that amazing mustache, he's also in cahoots with Idris Elba's Knuckles. Luckily, Sonic won't have to deal with these two alone.
Returning as teased at the end of Sonic The Hedgehog is our hero’s faithful friend, Miles “Tails” Prower. Voiced yet again by Sonic franchise vet Colleen O'Shaughnessy, these best buds are finally taking the screen together. How this will affect the friendship that Ben Schwartz’s Sonic had just built with his human friend Tom Wachowski (James Marsden), along with his wife Maddie (Tika Sumpter) remains to be seen. However, a new enemy will also enter the equation.
Which brings us to Idris Elba’s Knuckles the Echidna, who may or may not be a clue as to why Sonic The Hedgehog 2 filmed sequences in Hawaii during the tail end of its production. Regardless, he's also on the slate for director Jeff Fowler’s big follow-up. Naturally, Knuckles eventually befriends Sonic as time goes on, but if you’re going to introduce the guardian of Angel Island, you need to set him up as a heavy at first. So for a good chunk of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, he'll be allied with Dr. Robotnik, making Sonic's latest adventure more difficult than his last one.
The world of Sega’s source games has always been massive, with tons of spin-offs and characters yet to be addressed. Slow and steady does seem to be working in this case, as the introduction of Tails and Knuckles doesn’t feel too forced at this point. If things keep progressing at this rate, maybe Dwayne Johnson could have a role in the series after all. Only instead of being cast as Knuckles, like fans had initially hoped, he could totally be the voice of Shadow the Hedgehog!
It still feels like a massive surprise to not only get Sonic The Hedgehog 2 at all, but also to be receiving such a movie this quickly after its announcement. We’ll see if the wait was worth it when Sonic The Hedgehog 2 races into theaters on April 8, 2022. That does seem like a little bit of a wait, so if you’re already feeling a need for speed to get to the movies, then you’ve gotta go fast to the 2021 release schedule!
