We may finally have our first look at the main character redesign for theSonic the Hedgehogmovie. Just a little recap for those who perhaps don’t recall. Back in April, the first trailer for the movie was released online. The backlash to Sonic’s design wasn’t just the usual Twitter chatter that doesn’t tend to represent the feelings of the masses. It was unignorable. As such, Paramount Pictures decided to go back to the drawing board, redesign Sonic and delay the release date. Now, we may know what they came up with.
Several images have been floating around online over the past day or so, allegedly offering us a look at the new Sonic. It appears as though the images could be close-ups from a poster, or some other piece of marketing material. One featuresJim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnikin the background. But, most importantly, the furry little version of Sonic we see looks far more faithful to what fans know from the iconic video game series. It’s an undeniably crowd-pleasing improvement over what we were initially shown.
Leading up to the trailer release, several images were revealed online that showcased Sonic, who will bevoiced by Ben Schwartz(Parks and Recreation). They showed a version of the character with freakishly long legs and, as per the trailer, a full set of teeth. The trailer introduced some other bizarre choices, perhaps most notably theGantster’s Paradiseneedle drop. So, who knows? At this stage, it’s impossible to know what the movie looks like beyond Sonic’s look. One can only hope that, after all of that additional work, it turns out to have been worth it.
Sonic the Hedgehogcenters on the titularvideo game heroas he navigates the complexities of life on Earth with his newfound human best friend Tom Wachowski (James Marsden). Sonic and Tom team up in order to stop the villainous Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) from capturing Sonic and attempting to take over the world. The movie is directed by Jeff Fowler, who makes his feature debut, and is produced byDeadpooldirector Tim Miller.
There has been some concern over the decision by the studio to move forward with this redesign. Does it set a bad precedent? Can online fan demand overrule artist decisions? Plus, there’s the matter of all theVFX artistswho surely had to put in a whole lot of additional work, since the movie was close to finished once this whole debacle took place. But Jeff Fowler did assure that the VFX team wouldn’t be overworked to meet the new deadline. If these images truly do represent the finished redesign, we would very likely be seeing a new trailer sooner rather than later. Especially since the release date is creeping up fast.Sonic the Hedgehogis set to hit theaters on August 18, 2025, fromParamount Pictures. Be sure to check out the leaked images for yourself.
