Sonic the Hedgehog Film To Star Westworld's James Marsden

There have been all kinds of rumors swirling about who would appear in the upcoming live-action/CG Sonic the Hedgehog film, which is set to release next year. At one point, we heard that Ant-Man himself, Paul Rudd, would be involved; and a story reported earlier today suggested that Ed Helms (The Office) and Jack Black (Jumanji: Welcome To the Jungle) were in the running for the lead.

Now a new report from Variety suggests that a star from the earlier X-Men films and the hit HBO series Westworld will be running alongside the speedy hero. Per the report, James Marsden will star in the forthcoming film, according to various sources.

This doesn't appear to be finalized yet but Marsden looks to be an ideal addition to the cast, although it's unknown what his role in the movie will be.

The film will be made via Paramount, who secured the rights to the film back in 2017 and tapped Jeff Fowler to direct. It will be produced by Neal H. Moritz, with Deadpool director Tim Miller serving as executive producer alongside Dan Jevons, Toby Ascher and Dmitri Johnson.

Sega's property has been discussed in film for some time now in the hopes of catching on with the same success as Sonic's game line-up has done. Last year was big for Sonic between the retro-ized release of Sonic Mania (which will see a new expansion, Plus, this summer) and the fast-paced Sonic Forces.

Sonic's keeping just as busy this year with a new racing game set to debut later in 2018 for consoles and PC, and a possible new release to be announced.

Marsden's been keeping quite busy as of late. Along with Westworld, he's also appeared in the Rob Reiner film Shock and Awe.

No other casting decisions have been made for Sonic the Hedgehog just yet, so Helms and Black could still be in the running for a secondary role; and there's always the possibility of getting a good actor to portray the evil Dr. Eggman, who's been confirmed for the movie.

We'll find out if the hero is up to speed when Sonic the Hedgehog races its way to theaters on November 15, 2019.

(Hat tip to Variety for the scoop!)