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Idris Elba will voice Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Coming hot off the heels of the recently released The Suicide Squad, Idris Elba has just confirmed that he will be returning to theater screens once again to voice Knuckles the Echidna in the next Sonic movie, currently titled Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Knock, knock….#SonicMovie2 #Knuckles pic.twitter.com/N1PW5XaCEd

— Idris Elba (@idriselba) August 10, 2021

Sonic the Hedgehog’s second movie adaptation was announced earlier this year after its very successful predecessor. The movie is confirmed to star Sonic, his sidekick Tails, Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, and the first theatrical appearance of Knuckles.

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The surprise casting was unveiled via a Twitter post straight from Elba himself. In his Tweet, Elba writes “Knock knock,” which happens to be a very popular Knuckles line from his Sonic Adventure theme song Unknown From M.E.

Before this casting announcement, there was tons of speculation on who would be lending their voice to the “new porcupine on the block with the buff chest.” Two names that were constantly floating around were Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Momoa. Funnily enough, it seems that Sonic fans are reacting even more positively to the Elba confirmation than the “leaks” surrounding those two big names.

YOOO LETS GOOOOOOOOO
IDRIS ELBA WILL SING PUMPKIN HILL! https://t.co/DkUClRMgqy

— Matt McMuscles (@MattMcMuscles) August 10, 2021

With the inclusion of Knuckles in the film, it’s clear that this movie will most likely be based on Sonic 3 & Knuckles. There’s a good chance we could see Knuckles’ start as Sonic’s enemy, thanks to Robotnik’s lies, and his evolution into one of his closest friends and allies.

While there’s no trailer for the film yet, it’ll certainly be entertaining to hear Elba’s voice come out of a buff, little Echidna.

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De'Angelo Epps is a gaming writer passionate about the culture, communities, and industry surrounding gaming. His work ranges…
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