The Blue Blur is coming to the small screen faster than the speed of sound once again. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will begin streaming on Paramount+ on May 24.
SEGAbits, a niche news site that covers Sonic and other Sega game franchises such as Yakuza, Jet Set Radio, and Streets of Rage, confirmed the streaming release date for Sonic 2 in a tweet Wednesday. This news corroborates Paramount Pictures’ announcement last year that the film would be released on the streaming service — which had just debuted at the time — 45 days after the start of its theatrical run.
#SonicMovie2 will be available to stream on Paramount+ on May 24, 2022. pic.twitter.com/iERjEoOsBf
— SEGAbits (@SEGAbits) April 27, 2022
The move to get the Sonic film sequel onto streaming 45 days after its run in theaters started after the first movie was given a digital home release on March 31, 2020. That move occurred when the pandemic placed everyone on lockdown, and movie theaters were closing down to protect moviegoers and employees from contracting Covid-19 in its early days. Although the pandemic has slowed in recent months, Sonic 2 streaming on Paramount+ early is a sign that the tradition of releasing movies 90 days after their theatrical run is irrevocably broken.
Early streaming is another hard-won victory for Sonic after the sequel became the number one video game movie of all time, surpassing its predecessor at the box office by a small margin. The films are so popular that a third movie is in development with a new teased main antagonist, along with a spin-off series centered on Knuckles the Echidna, making way for what fans call a Sonic Cinematic Universe.