The Sonic the Hedgehog movie was a surprise hit, sweeping up $319.7 million golden rings globally and breaking the mold where video game adaptations are concerned. It raced to the top of that list and is now the most successful video game movie ever made. But perhaps that is set to change when its sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hits theaters next year.
Recent months have seen plenty of traction for the upcoming sequel, with Idris Elba being announced as the voice of fan-favorite character Knuckles, and shooting location reveals including Hawaii. Returning actors include James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally, Natasha Rothwell, Ben Schwartz, and Jim Carrey, who will be reprising their roles as Tom Wachowski, Maddie Wachowski, Wade Whipple, Rachel, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Dr. Robotnik, while newcomers Shemar Moore has been confirmed in an undisclosed role, and of course Idris Elba as Knuckles. The voice of Tails is yet to be confirmed.
Now, yet another actor from the original film is set to reprise his role in the second installment in the Sonic movie franchise, and while he's not from the video games themselves, fans will be delighted to see this character return alongside Jim Carrey's narcissistic Dr. Robotnik. Yes, Lee Majdoub will be reprising his role as villain Agent Stone. The official Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account confirmed this on September 29, alongside a picture of Dr. Robotnik and Agent Stone's faces adorning the foam of a certain coffee.
In the tweet, the actor says: "I'm back for #SonicMovie2!!! What... did you really think Dr. Robotnik could do this without me? (Don't answer that). Anyways, Happy #NationalCoffeeDay! #SteamedAustrainGoatMilkLatte". If you've not seen the original movie in some time, the relevance of coffee might be lost on you a little. September 29 was International Coffee Day, which was the perfect time for the announcement, as one of the funniest scenes in the original movie, in which Stone sneaks up on Robotnik while he's dancing to bring him his favorite 'steamed Austrian Goat milk latte'.
In the original film, Majdoub played Dr. Robotnik's right-hand man and personal assistant, who the iconic villain bullied relentlessly. How the side-villain is set to return is unknown, but it's likely he'll be reunited with Jim Carrey's mustache-twirling villain once he manages to escape the mushroom w where we were stranded at the end of the first movie. But however the two villains have paired up again, they'll likely also be joined by Knuckles. While the character is now a hero, he was originally introduced as a villain in 1994's Sonic the Hedgehog 3, in which he is manipulated by Dr. Robotnik.
There's no doubt that the sequel will perform well, especially now that theaters are back on their feet following the COVID-19 pandemic. While video game adaptations have a poor reputation at best, Sonic the Hedgehog has already changed the rules. But that didn't always look to be the case, as the original trailer for the first film was met with harsh criticism in response to the titular hedgehog's terrible design. However, director Jeff Fowler gracefully took on the feedback and worked hard with the other filmmakers to completely redesign Sonic, which of course involved a number of reshoots.
Exactly how things might have turned out if the filmmakers hadn't gone to great lengths to change Sonic is unknown, and there's possibly a version of the film with that original design somewhere in existence. But hopefully, it will never see the light of day, as it's been nothing but positive stuff for SEGA's fastest hero. Let's just hope that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will also pave the way for a future sequel - and let's face it, with the recently-announced Mario movie on the horizon, which will star Chris Pratt as the goomba-stomping plumber, it looks like the Nintendo vs. SEGA wars are set to make a comeback...
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will race into theaters on April 8, 2022.
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!
Fantasy & Science Fiction