Sonic movies leading up to 'Avengers-level events', according to producer
We warned you that the Sonimatic Universe was coming, and as we approach the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in 2024, it sounds like Paramount Pictures has grand plans for the Blue Blur. As SEGA's speedy mascot, Sonic has been doing the rounds since 1990, and as an icon of gaming, he's rightly earned his place in the history books.
Casting your minds back to 2020, it was a different landscape for video game movies. We'd been hit with many disappointing releases, while even the box office success of the Resident Evil movies was hardly met with critical acclaim. Detective Pikachu changed things in 2019, and then along came Sonic to up the ante.
The Sonic universe could be building toward its own Avengers movie
Click to enlargeThe OG Sonic the Hedgehog broke box office records and quickly led to a 2022 sequel (that earned even more). Plans for a threequel were given the green light, and with Idris Elba's Knuckles getting his own spin-off TV series, fans are rightly asking where things are heading.
Sonic 3 is set to add more heroes and villains, with the gun-toting Shadow the Hedgehog looking like the troubled protagonist of the third movie. The Sonic series has never been short of characters, and by the sounds of it, paramount could be building toward its own take on Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Speaking to Paste magazine about all things Sonic, franchise Producer Toby Ascher explained what's next. "We knew that, with Shadow coming into Sonic 3 and some of the bigger things that we want to do, the Sonic franchise on the movie side is going to be these Avengers-level events," said Ascher.
Expanding on these Sonic-inspired Avengers, he continued, "They're going to be these big, exciting stories that have a lot of different characters. And so what television did for us is it gave us time to go into some of the more supporting characters in depth and really build them out in cool ways."
Teasing an expanded slate of movies and shows, Ascher concluded, "If something is working really successfully, and we have a really great story to tell, we're definitely going to expand on it. I don't think there's any closed doors on future television, future seasons of Knuckles, so everything is wide open. I think it's important to us that we're not just making stuff to make stuff."
Sonic: Endgame
Click to enlargeEven though Paramount has set a strong foundation here, we ask ourselves whether the Sonimatic Universe has the legs to go all the way. It's true that Sonic 2's worldwide gross of $405.42 million put Sonic's $320.95 million to shame, but Sonic 3 could be the decider.
While the idea of the Knuckles series is great on paper, there hasn't been much buzz ahead of its April 26 release. Franchise fatigue is everywhere right now, with even the once unshakeable MCU having to readdress accusations of quantity over quality.
We're sure Amy Rose is out there somewhere, and it would be a shame if other fan favourites like Rouge the Bat and Silver the Hedgehog don't get their time to shine, but it's hard to imagine the franchise spinning out indefinitely.
Seeing these characters gather for their own Avengers movie will surely be a lot of fun, but whether you're sticking around for 22 movies to get to Sonic: Endgame, we're not convinced even the most die-hard fans will be willing to invest that much time and effort. Still, while Sonic keeps spinning and the gold rings keep coming in, this is one series Paramount is sure to keep milking.
