OMG you guys – we’re getting a Sonic the Hedgehog movie! Just kidding, I’m completely neutral on this news, having only the basest of knowledge who Sonic is. My kids will kill me for that admission. Sonic is a character who premiered in a platform game of the early 90s that was Sega’s answer to the super popular Mario Kart. And it worked, Sonic hit the ground running (ha!) and never stopped. He still has games coming out 27 years later so good on him. And that kind of success deserves a movie, of course. So who better to plays a blue hedgehog stuck in hyperdrive? James Marsden of Westworld, of course. At least he’s in it, we don’t know for sure who he’s playing.
“Westworld’s” James Marsden will star in Paramount’s live-action/animation hybrid movie “Sonic the Hedgehog,” an adaptation of the classic video game, sources tell Variety.
The studio landed the film rights to the classic game in 2017 and tapped Jeff Fowler to direct.
Neal H. Moritz, who recently signed a first-look deal with Paramount, is producing under his Original Film banner. “Deadpool” director Tim Miller will serve as executive producer, along with Toby Ascher. Dmitri Johnson and Dan Jevons will co-produce.
Sega launched the Sonic game in 1991 and has sold more than 360 million copies to date, including both packaged and digital games on consoles, tablets, and mobile.
The game features a hedgehog named Sonic on a quest to defeat Doctor Robotnik, a scientist who has imprisoned animals in robots and stolen magical Chaos Emeralds.
There is nothing that says James is actually Sonic but since I have no idea what the story will be, let’s pretend he is. I really enjoy him on screen so even without Sonic knowledge, I’m all for this. He was great as Cyclops in X-Men and then hooked me forever as Prince Edward in Enchanted. And James is just the tip of the iceberg, there are more roles to cast. There’s the pink hedgehog named Amy Rose – she’s chipper, competitive and obsessed with Sonic. I want to offer up Amy Adams but that’s just an Enchanted holdover. I suggest Anna Kendrick. Then there’s Knuckles, a red, serious but gullible echidna. I’m kind of feeling Danny Pudi for this one. Tails is Sonic’s best friend who is also a fox who can use his tail to propel himself. It’s supposed to be a boy but I still want Mindy Kaling. And, of course, the bad guy, the mad scientist Dr. Eggman. I don’t have the first clue but I’m throwing Andre Braugher, Capt Holt from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, out there because that would make me positively giddy.
Since I’m throwing ideas into the universe anyway: Mario and Sonic put their differences aside in 2007 to start producing crossover games. So maybe I can get Adam Pally in a comical mustache in this thing. We will all have to wait, though. Sonic the Movie won’t be coming out until November 2019, which, unfortunately, I will have forgotten about it by then.
Photo credit: WENN Photos and Getty Images
Good lord, whyyy ?
Have you watched the kids show recently? It’s HILARIOUS. My 5 yo and 8 yo watch it, and half the jokes go over their heads… it’s adulty humour. A live action movie, if done properly, will be great!
One of my cousins decided, at the age of 2, that he WAS Sonic the Hedgehog. He would only answer to Sonic. He carried a Sonic doll with him at all times and we had to talk to the doll. He had to have some article of Sonic clothing on him every day. This went on for 3-4 years and drove my aunt crazy. He switched from Sonic to Legos when he hit first grade. – that passion still lives and he’s an engineer He’s now so heavily into Game of Thrones that he took his girlfriend to Iceland to propose to her on a Game o Thrones location tour. He wanted a Game of Thrones themed wedding too but his fiancee pointed out that Game of Thrones weddings aren’t happy occasions. Maybe they can go for a Sonic theme.
This is everything.
My 5 yo son insists to this day that his middle name be changed to “Falcon” based on the superhero.
Oh, Teddy. No.
Hollywood is running out of ideas. It is not that they are doing something. They Re doing nothing about it. Have these people ever learned that Hollywood is never good at bringing adaptation of video games to live action movies? The emoji movie movies should really open their eyes on this one. (P.S I know that it’s not a video game but notheless, adaptation of anything computer generated is going to be a total disaster). James Marsden is lucky that he has a hit show to fall back on.
James Marsden was in an Easter Bunny movie a few years back that was pretty cute. He really commits to the role. He’ll probably do the same for Sonic.
Yes! I saw this recently, i think he’s a really great and under rated actor. He is gold in Enchanted, he’s got some pipes too
If James Marsden is Sonic, then the hedgehog will be dumped for another guy or killed, or both. You can always count on JM for that.
15 years ago…yes…NOW? No…
I love him! He is my celebrity crush! Super handsome!
God, why? James Marsden deserves better than this!
If Ryan Reynolds can be Detective Pikachu, then why not James Marsden as Sonic.