Sonic the Hedgehog Movies Won't Always Follow the Order of the Games

While it is clear from both the content of the film -- the inclusion of Tails and Knuckles -- as well as the promotional material like the poster taking direct inspiration from the video game box art, that the upcoming movie Sonic the Hedgehog 2 takes plenty of imagery and content from the video game of the same name as well as Sonic the Hedgehog 3, it sounds as if the movies will not always be following the chronological order of games going forward. According to a recent interview with director Jeff Fowler, it's going to be "a little bit of a melting pot" instead, which means the already greenlit third film could include just about anything.

"It's not always going to be a linear progression of like 'Oh, this was in Sonic 2 so it's going to be in the Sonic 2 film'. It's going to be a little bit of a cherry picking, a little bit of a melting pot," Fowler recently told IGN. "There's so much great, inspiring imagery to pull from the 30 years of games. So if we didn't get it in one film, there's always the chance that we'll revisit it somewhere else."

Fowler went on to say that while there are plenty of key moments and nods to the second and third video games in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, he believes it is "exciting for the fans to not know what's going to come in where, rather than just knowing we're going down a checklist from A to B to C to D."

"After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is eager to prove he has what it takes to be a true hero," the synopsis of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 reads. "His test comes when Dr. Robotnik returns, this time with a new partner, Knuckles, in search for an emerald that has the power to destroy civilizations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, and together they embark on a globe-trotting journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands."

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is currently set to release on April 8th. The sequel will see the return of the principal actors from the original as well as Idris Elba as the voice of Knuckles and Colleen O'Shaughnessey as the voice of Miles "Tails" Prower. Sonic the Hedgehog, the original film, is currently available to purchase on home video, digitally as well as on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD. The film stars Ben Schwartz as the voice of the eponymous hedgehog, James Marsden as Tom Wachowski, a police officer that befriends Sonic, and Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, the franchise's classic villain and scientist. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie sequel here.

What do you think of Fowler's comments about following the video games in order? Are you excited to check out the new movie in theaters when it releases early next month? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to reach out and hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop in order to talk about all things gaming and movies!