Sonic the Hedgehog Spinoff Knuckles Cast Announced

Adam Pally will star in the upcoming spinoff TV series set in the world of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, as Knuckles heads to Paramount+, with a cast announced today. He joins Idris Elba, who provides the voice of the titular echidna, as he did in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Pally, best known for roles in Happy Endings and The Mindy Project, will reprise his Sonic 2 role as Wade Whipple. The series will also star Tika Sumpter. The series will take place between the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the third movie, which is planned for a late 2024 release. 

In the series, Knuckles "agrees to train Wade as his protégé and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior," according to the official logline (via Variety, who broke the casting news).

Last week, Sonic the Hedgehog director Jeff Fowler, who will helm the pilot, said last week that he's excited for fans to see more of the character.

"Oh, it's very early with all of that. One thing I knew after we finished the film, people are going to love this character. They're going to love Idris playing this character and they're going to want more of Knuckles absolutely," Fowler told Discussing Film. "So right now, all the focus is just on getting people excited and getting them out to see the sequel. Then, we'll go from there. He's such a wonderful character that there are so many different ways that you can go [in the series] that fans could really get excited by, so that will hopefully all come along very soon. But for now, I'm just so excited to get people to see the sequel."

Fowler, who directed the first two Sonic the Hedgehog films, will direct the pilot episode and executive produce the series. Neal H. Moritz and Toby Ascher of Original Film and Toru Nakahara, all of whom worked on the movies, will serve as executive producers, as does Elba. Ged Wright, Brandon Trost, Jorma Taccone, and Carol Banker are also directing episodes. Paramount Pictures and Sega of America produce.

In the games, after debuting as an antagonist in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on Sega Genesis, Knuckles returned as a playable character in Sonic & Knuckles. In 1995, the character even got his own spin-off game, called Knuckles' Chaotix. Since the previous movie ended with Knuckles and Sonic seemingly having a grudging respect for one another, it's likely that the character in the show will go in a similar direction.

No word yet on exactly when the series will debut. The first two Sonic the Hedgehog films are on Paramount+ now.

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