Paramount Announces Sonic the Hedgehog Sequel

Remember what it was like, attending films in theaters? It’s a bit hard to believe that even earlier this year, in 2020, it was something we were all free to do … and that quite a few of us chose to attend the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog for lighthearted entertainment. Paramount, at least, is willing to bet that folks will be willing to do so once again, and today they announced the development of a Sonic sequel alongside Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings. The sequel would bring back director Jeff Fowler and screenwriters Pat Casey and Josh Miller, according to Variety. One assumes that star/Sonic voice actor Ben Schwartz would have to be in on the gig as well, but no additional casting information has been announced—nor has a production start date, which is obviously problematic right now.

The first film had quite the life cycle on the internet, going from glaring pariah with the release of its inconceivably poorly designed first trailer, to a collective “hey, that’s much better” when the CGI rendering of Sonic was altered to something much closer to his traditional videogame depiction. It truly ended up saving the film’s box office fortunes, as Sonic opened at #1, becoming the highest grossing opening weekend for a videogame adaptation to date. So far, it’s made more than $300 million at the global box office, and is third place in the 2020 U.S. box office rankings for this bizarre year, behind only 1917 and Bad Boys For Life.

Like other films released in the weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shut down of U.S. theaters, Sonic came to home entertainment options and VOD earlier than expected, which has likely increased its exposure as well. We’ll bring you more news about how this sequel is shaping up as it arrives.