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.
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.
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
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