Skip to main content

Jim Carrey may be playing Dr. Robotnik in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’

Sonic
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In collaboration with Paramount, Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog movie adaptation finally has a set release date. The currently untitled movie debuts November 15, 2019.

According to Hollywood Reporter, Deadpool director Tim Miller is serving as executive producer alongside Toby Ascher. Dmitri Johnson and Dan Jevons will co-produce. Jeff Fowler will make his feature-length directorial debut. Fowler is most well-known for directing the animated short Gopher Broke, which was nominated for an Oscar in 2005. Pat Casey and Josh Miller, the creator of the animated show Golan the Insatiable, will pen the script.

Recommended Videos

The live-action movie will bring Sonic to the big screen using CGI. Beyond that, we know next to nothing about the film’s story. But it’s safe to say that some familiar Sonic friends and foes will also receive the CGI treatment.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

That’s not entirely surprising, though. For those who have been tracking the Sonic movie, you’re probably confused as to why Paramount is involved in the project now. When a Sonic adaptation was originally announced in 2014, Sony Pictures Entertainment was the studio collaborating with Sega. And in 2016, Sony said its Sonic movie was targeting a 2018 release.

While it’s unclear why it happened, it’s clear Sony’s Sonic project fell through. Thankfully for fans of Sega’s iconic mascot, Paramount stepped in to revive the project.

While the details of Paramount’s project remain murky, we do have a bit more information regarding who will play the series’ iconic villain. Deadline has reported that their sources say that Jim Carrey is currently in negotiations to take on the role of Dr. Robotnik. As of right now, Carrey’s role remains unconfirmed, but we’ll update this story as we learn more.

For as popular as Sonic has been since his creation in 1991, the mascot hasn’t received very much love in the adaptation department. In the early 1990s, ABC produced a cartoon starring the hedgehog which ran for two seasons. Sonic was also the subject of a two-episode anime arc in Japan in 1996. The episodes were later combined, dubbed, and retitled to Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie for release in North America in 1999. Currently, the spinoff children’s cartoon Sonic Boom! runs on Cartoon Network. The second season wrapped late last year.

Although Sonic has somewhat floundered as a video game franchise since its Sega Genesis heyday, 2017 saw the launch of Sonic Mania, a return to form that remixed classic Sonic gameplay and levels for a new generation. Sonic’s resurgence makes it feel like a good time for this adaptation to take flight.

The Sonic the Hedgehog movie comes to theaters November 15, 2019.

Updated on July 30 with the news that Jim Carrey may be playing Dr. Robotnik

Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
Sonic Dream Team’s next free update adds a new zone and ranking system
Sonic swings on a bar in Sonic Dream Team.

Sonic Dream Team is getting a significant free update on Wednesday, April 17, that will add more levels and a ranking system. The update for the Apple Arcade exclusive comes on the heels of layoffs at developer Sega Hardlight, which was impacted by a recent restructure at Sega.

Sonic Dream Team launched as part of Apple’s iOS game subscription service in December. Though it’s only garnered a handful of critical reviews since then, including a positive one from Digital Trends, the platformer has received positive praise from Sonic fans (it currently has an 8.8 user rating on Metacritic). This week’s update is Sega Hardlight’s biggest content drop for the title.

Read more
I’m a lifelong Sonic fan. Here’s why I’m loving Sonic Dream Team
Sonic Dream Team key art with Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit, Knuckles the Echidna, Rouge the Bat, Miles “Tails” Prower, and Ariem in the background.

When I was 9 years old, shortly after my cousin reintroduced me to Sonic Adventure 2: Battle on the GameCube, I had a dream that triggered my love for Sonic forever once I woke up. In that dream, Eggman kidnapped me for some heinous purpose, encasing me in a capsule for a weapon that could potentially destroy the planet. The details of that dream are fuzzy -- most dreams are -- but I recall Sonic rushing in to defeat Eggman and rescue me, putting an end to his evil plans once and for all.

Twenty years later, the trailer for Sonic Dream Team caught me by surprise with visuals reminiscent of Sonic Lost World and animated sequences (including a full opening cinematic, complete with Eggman having multiple arms just like the spider guy from Spirited Away) by none other than Sonic illustrator Tyson Heese. The title alone reminded me of the dream my 9-year-old self had so much, and I got the chance to relive it with my iPhone plugged into my Backbone controller (an experience I highly recommend, by the way).

Read more
The next great Sonic the Hedgehog game may be hiding on Apple Arcade
Sonic dashes away from a crab in Sonic Dream Team.

Love it or hate it, you have to respect the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Sega and Sonic Team refuse to get stuck in a creative rut, constantly zigging when fans expect them to zag. Last year, the series took an unexpected open-zone pivot with Sonic Frontiers, only to return to familiar 2D platforming with this year’s Sonic Superstars. Just one month after that game’s release, the blue blur is taking another surprising turn with Sonic Dream Team.

Launching exclusively for Apple Arcade on December 5, Sonic Dream Team sees the series returning to the 3D roller-coaster design of the Sonic Adventures era. It’s both a nostalgic return to form and something entirely new, making for the most ambitious Sonic mobile game yet. It’s not the project I’d imagine anyone was expecting, but it might just be the one that fans have been waiting for.

Read more