Sonic is back with a new friend and a new foe in "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" – and a familiar
voice is bringing the blue blur's new friend Tails to life on the big screen.
Here's everything else you need to know before you see "Sonic the Hedgehog 2."
"Let's do this."
Even after it was almost derailed by a set of eerily human-looking teeth, the film adaptation
of Sega's beloved mascot was a hit both with fans of the games and at the box office, earning
nearly $320 million worldwide.
Although critics felt there was some room for improvement, the zippy design of Sonic
himself and the likable cast of human characters were enough to have the film declared the
rare successful video game adaptation.
Just three months after the release of the first movie, Variety confirmed that "Sonic
the Hedgehog 2" was officially on the way, with director Jeff Fowler and screenwriters
Pat Casey and Josh Miller all returning.
In the first film, we're introduced to Sonic, an alien hedgehog who uses a dimension-bending
ring to travel to earth.
Once there, he's pursued by the evil Dr. Robotnik, who wants to harness Sonic's supersonic speed
for use in his robotics experiments.
Sonic teams up with Sheriff Tom and his wife Maddie in order to evade Dr. Robotnik's increasingly
menacing attempts to capture the hedgehog.
"Sonic the Hedgehog" was enjoyable and did justice to the games, but it also left lots
of room to go bigger and better with another installment.
Now that we know one is on the way, let's dig into the details of what we know about
the release date, cast, and plot of the upcoming "Sonic the Hedgehog 2."
When Paramount made the announcement about the sequel, it was just that: news and not
much else.
However, in late July 2020, the studio revealed the official release date for "Sonic the Hedgehog
2."
Ben Schwartz, who voices the speedy little hedgehog, posted to his Twitter account a
video of himself confirming the news.
The video simply featured Schwartz strolling beside massive promotional posters for "Sonic
the Hedgehog" while awkwardly explaining what he was seeing.
The caption of the video is where the actor made things crystal clear: "SONIC 2 IS OFFICIALLY
COMING 2 THEATERS 4/8/22!!"
One of the biggest strengths of the first "Sonic the Hedgehog" was its cast.
Ben Schwartz, best known for "Parks and Recreation" and "The Afterparty," and an avowed fan of
the original Sonic games, gave an energetic vocal performance as the titular hedgehog.
Jim Carrey was delightfully unhinged as the villainous Dr. Robotnik, while James Marsden
and Tika Sumpter provided the right balance of humor and heart as Sonic's unassuming human
allies.
All four actors will reprise their roles in "Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Colleen O'Shaughnessy, who voiced Tails in the Sonic games, performed the character's
dialogue in a brief, post-credits sequence.
That set up Tails to be a much more prominent part of the next film, and O'Shaughnessy will
return.
There are two new big names in the cast of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2."
In June 2021, Shemar Moore, well known for his work on CBS procedurals "Criminal Minds"
and "S.W.A.T.," posted to Instagram a picture of himself on the "Sonic 2" set with the other
primary members of the human cast.
He announced his casting, but didn't reveal any details about his character.
However, Moore briefly appears in a scene in the third "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" trailer.
In August 2021, Variety reported that Emmy-and-Oscar-nominated superstar Idris Elba had joined "Sonic the
Hedgehog 2" as the voice of Knuckles, a Sonic adversary-turned-ally in the '90s Sega games.
During the 2021 Game Awards, "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" voice actor Ben Schwartz introduced the
first trailer for the film, with a second teaser arriving in time for the 2022 Super
Bowl.
Both clips revealed a few details about the plot of the highly anticipated sequel.
After Sonic blasted away Dr. Robotnik to a mushroom planet in the first film, he was
determined to escape his prison and return to Earth.
As revealed in the third trailer, which hit the internet on March 14th, Dr. Robotnik returns
to wreak more havoc, and he's in possession of a giant green emerald, which he proclaims
to be "the source of ultimate power."
Sonic, after crashing through a ring portal on a pile of snow, rudely interrupting a Hawaiian
destination wedding, announces his intention to stop his persistent nemesis — or otherwise,
"the world is doomed."
Neither side is alone in their quest this time.
Dr. Robotik has brought along the destructive and nefarious echidna Knuckles, while Sonic
has Tails fighting in his corner.
Overall, the "Sonic" sequel looks like it has much more in common with the games that
inspired the movie, with familiar faces on a new adventure hopefully everyone will love.
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