Here's all the information that's currently known about the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 video game movie sequel — including its release date, any information pertaining to its trailer/s, notable cast and crew that will be reprising their roles from the first instalment, any new additions to the cast, and what to expect from the film's story — all compiled and arranged into a convenient list; a one-stop shop, if you will.
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Release Date
The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie debuted theatrically back in February 2020, specifically on Valentine’s Day (February 14th), just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck big time.
After the film received a marginally positive reception critically and made bank monetarily, setting the record for the biggest opening weekend for a video game movie of all time and going on to become the highest-grossing video game movie of all time, Paramount Pictures confirmed a sequel.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is set to premiere theatrically on April 8th, 2022. Despite the pandemic still being ongoing somewhat, production hasn’t seemed to have faltered and thus the release date has remained unchanged.
Though, with the pandemic somewhat still a factor, perhaps the Sonic the Hedgehog sequel’s release could be shared between theaters and Paramount’s relatively new streaming service, Paramount+. After all, the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie was released digitally just a month after its theatrical debut, what with the aforementioned pandemic, and that proved to be a resounding success.
Trailer
Though we’re less than half a year out from the film’s scheduled release date (in April 2022), the first official trailer for the Sonic the Hedgehog movie sequel is yet to be released. Paramount Pictures teased that the trailer would be dropping on or around Thanksgiving (that’s November 25th for those outside the United States) but that evidently didn’t come to fruition.
Recently, though, a reputable leaker claimed that the first official trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is done and dusted: ready to be released. According to the verified leaker, the trailer is just over two minutes long and features our first official look at a fan-favourite Sonic the Hedgehog franchise character who’s making the leap from video game to silver screen.
Though they didn’t know when the trailer would be coming out, with it being fully edited you’d have to assume it’ll be released pretty soon — perhaps as a (premature) Christmas present.
Returning Cast
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will feature the return of many cast members from the prior instalment. James Marsden and Tika Sumpter will return as the Wachowski’s, Tom and Maddie. By the end of the first film, they basically served as Sonic’s adoptive parents.
Jim Carrey is expected to return as the nefarious Dr. Ivo Robotnik, or Dr. Eggman as Sonic calls him. He was an especially well-received part of the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Ben Schwartz is also returning as the voice actor behind the titular speedster.
Some minor characters who will also apparently be returning are Lee Majdoub as Dr. Robotnik’s right-hand man, Agent Stone, and Natasha Rothwell as Maddie’s sister, Rachel. Both of these characters served as comic relief, for the most part, in the first instalment — and will most likely reprise that role in the sequel.
Jeff Fowler returns to direct. The writers of the first instalment, Pat Casey and and Josh Miller, also reprise their roles along with a new writer by the name of John Whittington.
New Recruits
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 won’t only feature the return of the cast from the first instalment but also introduce some fresh faces. Two fan-favourite characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog video games will play major parts in the sequel; those two characters being Miles “Tails” Prowler and Knuckles the Echidna. In the games on which the Sonic the Hedgehog movies are based, Tails and Knuckles are Sonic’s two best friends.
The former featured in the first movie for a hot minute, only appearing in a post-credits scene. In said post-credits scene, Tails was voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey. This voice actress has served as the voice of Tails since 2014, playing the character in the Sonic Boom animated series and various video games, such as Team Sonic Racing, for instance.
Idris Elba is an actor best known for starring in HBO’s The Wire, as the titular character in BBC One’s Luther, and has many more well known roles to his name. Recently, he played the lead character, Bloodsport, in the latest DC Extended Universe entry, The Suicide Squad. He has also served as a voice actor in the likes of Zootopia, The Jungle Book, and more. Elba will play the role of Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will also introduce Shemar Moore to the cast but we don’t know anything about his role. Moore is best known for featuring in the CBS show Criminal Minds and starring in the S.W.A.T. television series.
Story
With no trailers yet released for Sonic the Hedgehog 2, we can’t be sure of much in regards to the film’s plot. However, we can speculate based on the jigsaw pieces provided to us by the first instalment.
By the end of the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie, the titular speedster had defeated Dr. Robotnik by banishing him to a realm filled with enormous mushrooms, not dissimilar to the Green Hill Zone location where Sonic originally came from.
Speaking of Sonic’s origins, the Green Hill Zone prologue of the first film saw Sonic and his motherly owl figure hunted by some tribal hunters. Looking closely, this primal clan consists of echidnas: Knuckles’ species. So, perhaps Sonic will hold some resentment towards Knuckles for being one of the species responsible for ruining his serene childhood.
Since echidnas are evidently native to Green Hill Zone and Dr. Robotnik found himself trapped in a not dissimilar colourful land, swearing vengeance against Sonic the Hedgehog, perhaps Knuckles and Dr. Robotnik will at first team-up to hunt down the blue hedgehog, only for Knuckles to eventually change sides. That would be quite a familiar plot to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the classic video games on which the films are based — which only lends credence to the speculation.