Sonic Film Producer Tim Miller on the Redesign: “I Think the Fans Will Be Pleased”

The upcoming live-action Sonic the Hedgehog film has had something of a rocky reception. After releasing a trailer earlier this year which was immediately criticized for its unusual design choices in regards to Sonic, director Jeff Fowler revealed that the film would see its main character redesigned ahead of release. The movie was later delayed, seemingly to accommodate the necessary work required to essentially redo large portions of it. Since then, the official production has been relatively quiet, with the official Twitter account left silent, but producer Tim Miller has now commented on the redesign ahead of San Diego Comic-Con 2019.

Speaking with Variety ahead of SDCC 2019, Miller, who is perhaps best known for directing Deadpool, confirmed that he’d seen the new designs for Sonic and that “fans will be pleased.” He also spoke more broadly about the reaction to the initial trailer, and how he and Fowler handled it in the immediate aftermath.

“Look, I was with fans and so was Jeff,” Miller said. “When the s–t hit the fan, I went over there and said, ‘The most important thing to do, man, is say, ‘I f–ked up.’ He’d already sent a tweet out an hour before I got there. He’s a good man. It was exactly the right way to handle that. The fans have a voice in this too. There’s a right way to listen.”

It’s currently unclear when that new redesign of Sonic will be made public, but the film itself is now scheduled to premiere on February 14, 2020, as revealed by Fowler on Twitter in May.

Sonic the Hedgehog , which is of course based on the classic video game franchise of the same name, stars Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, Jim Carrey as the villainous Dr. Robotnik, and James Marsden as Tom Wachowski, Sonic’s new best friend who also happens to be human.