Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Officially Announced

The furry blue blur will race back onto the big screen, as the box office success of Sonic the Hedgehog has spurred Paramount PIictures to begin work on the sequel to the hit family film focused on SEGA’s video game mascot. Sonic the Hedgehog was a hit with fans, critics, and kids and was one of the bigger success stories at theaters before they were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. But after an earnings call with shareholders where executives called Sonic the Hedgehog a new franchise for Paramount and parent company ViacomCBS, it doesn’t come as a shock that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is now in the works. The news was confirmed by a report from Variety, and it seems likely that actors Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, and James Marsden will all return for another adventure.

The film’s financial success had most people assuming a sequel announcement was forthcoming, but with theaters closed and production halted, the timeline for getting anythign inf ront of cameras is kind of up in the air. That doesn’t stop filmmakers from getting things off the ground, and that’s the current plan, with Jeff Fowler directing, and Pat Casey and Josh Miller writing the script at present.

Here’s how Paramount Pictures describes the movie:

“Based on the global blockbuster videogame franchise from Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog tells the story of the world’s speediest hedgehog as he embraces his new home on Earth. In this live-action adventure comedy, Sonic and his new best friend Tom (James Marsden) team up to defend the planet from the evil genius Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and his plans for world domination. The family-friendly film also stars Tika Sumpter and Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic.”

Sonic the Hedgehog hit theaters on Valentine’s Day, with a digital release coming in March after theaters shut down due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. 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 film right here.

The film is available on digital, DVD, and Blu-ray. Last week, Sonic the Hedgehog debuted in the top spot on the NPD VideoScan First Alert chart, which tracks combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc unit sales, and the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart the week ended May 23.

Variety first broke the news of the sequel, with a note that Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher and Toru Nakahara are producing the as-yet-untitled sequel, with Hajime Satomi, Haruki Satomi and Tim Miller executive producing.