Sonic the Hedgehog ($320 Million Worldwide Box Office)

Sonic The Hedgehog is making his way to the big screen, and IGN has the exclusive first look at a live-action take on the beloved character.

The poster shows a couple of key updates to Sonic, and we had the opportunity to speak with the creative team behind the movie to find out new details about the upcoming movie. This telling of Sonic's story sees him as a bit of a fish -- or hedgehog -- out of water. Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, finds himself in our present-day world, wherein he develops a relationship with James Marsden's Tom Wachowski and also finds himself at odds with Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik. As expected, mayhem ensues.

The production team behind the movie opted to go for a more realistic take on Sonic -- down to his updated new kicks -- than the more cartoony version we've seen in the past. The filmmakers consider Ted to be an appropriate analog for the upcoming Sonic movie’s integration of a CG character into a real-world setting.

The first thing you’ll likely notice about the character is that he has fur -- a bit of a no-brainer, considering what he is, but still a markedly different visual depiction of Sonic than what we’re used to. “That was always Stage 1 of adapting it to what the real world is and what a real animal would be like,” executive producer Tim Miller (director of Deadpool) said of giving Sonic fur. “It would be weird and it would feel like he was running around nude if he was some sort of otter-like thing. It was always, for us, fur, and we never considered anything different. It’s part of what integrates him into the real world and makes him a real creature.”

Then there are the shoes. "We looked at every different variation of what shoes he's worn and we're trying to pay homage to that and also make it current and present day in what we think a Sonic of today would wear," producer Neal Moritz (producer of the Fast and the Furious franchise) told IGN.

The most challenging part of Sonic’s updated design isn’t revealed in this teaser: his eyes. The filmmakers struggled with how best to depict Sonic’s eyes because often he’s only seen with one, and that wouldn’t translate well to the live-action movie.

“I don’t think SEGA was entirely happy with the eye decision, but these sorts of things you go, ‘It’s going to look weird if we don’t do this.’ But everything is a discussion, and that’s kind of the goal, which is to only change what’s necessary and stay true to the rest of it,” said Miller. “He’s not going to feel like a Pixar character would because I don’t think that’s the right aesthetic to make it feel like part of our world.”

There's also the question of how Sonic The Hedgehog will represent the title character's speed -- one of his signature elements -- within the movie. Post-production began about a month ago, so the special effects are still being finalized, but director Jeff Fowler -- the movie’s resident Sonic superfan and internal defender of staying true to the character -- knew from the start exactly how he wanted to visually represent Sonic's super-fast abilities. In fact, that was part of the original pitch to studios. Fowler, Moritz and Miller all worked on a test video for what they envisioned Sonic would be to show to their studio partners, and it revealed their early concepts for how the speed would work. (Coincidentally, they had asked Schwartz to sub in as the voice of Sonic in that test video, and he did such a great job that they ended up casting him for the role.)

“The first thing you need to do is put limits on it. If you can do anything, nothing is special. For me, it’s always about keeping it grounded and keeping it realistic,” said Miller. “We had some time to figure out the speed: What it looks like, what it feels like for a character to do that and how it relates to our world. It took a little trial and error, but that’s animation in figuring out what the effect looks like and what it does to the rest of the world around it. The speed changes over time because he evolves, because he can’t do everything at the beginning of the movie. It’s finding the visual language and figuring out how it’s going to evolve over time.”

That speed is slightly teased in the poster, but don’t consider that to be an accurate depiction of how Sonic’s fast-moving nature will be represented in the movie.

"Obviously the poster can only show so much. … That's a hint at what we're hoping to accomplish, but I think people are going to see things they've probably never seen before in trying to represent speed in this movie,” said Moritz. "We've worked so closely with the people at SEGA who are kind of the gatekeepers of Sonic to make sure we're lockstep. We're trying to make something that's for today that fans of different versions will love as well.”

With Sonic being thrown into the real world and out of his own, it's unclear what presence fan-favorites like Tails and Knuckles will have in the new film. Miller confirmed that part of this new story will not take place on Earth, while Moritz said, "I think the audience can expect to find some Easter eggs. We don't want to reveal any of that stuff, but I think there will be some very exciting things that fans of Sonic will get to see in this movie."

Sonic The Hedgehog comes out in 2019, hitting theaters on November 8th in the US, November 28th in Australia and December 26th in the UK.

UltimateMarvel wrote:lol I never thought they would make a live action Sonic movie. Jim Carrey is in this which makes it interesting. Also, the poster makes him look like he's some kind of monster.

Tyger wrote:Jean Ralphio is Sonic?! I’m in just for that

Gold rings, pleeeeeeease

We’ve all marveled at his long, long legs and tiny little mouth, now it’s time to see all of that blue brought to life in the first full trailer for the upcoming live-action adventure comedy flick “Sonic The Hedgehog.”

The official trailer shows off just how unsettling it is to see a gotta-go-fast blue hedgehog with the legs of a Rockette (voiced by Ben Schwartz) ham it up with the likes of James Marsden (playing Tom Wachowski) and Jim Carrey (who is, of course, Dr. Robotnik). We see our titular furry blue hero break the sound barrier and whip around golden rings to the tune of “Gangsta’s Paradise,” while Carrey — appearing to be doing his best possible impression of himself — goes full villain with some fancy gadgets.

According to the YouTube video’s description, the movie “follows the (mis)adventures of Sonic as he navigates the complexities of life on Earth with his newfound – human – best friend Tom Wachowski (James Marsden). Sonic and Tom join forces to try and stop the villainous Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) from capturing Sonic and using his immense powers for world domination.”

The film, which hits in November, also stars Tika Sumpter … and Sonic’s long, long legs.

UltimateMarvel wrote:I mean..........is there a good way of making a Sonic movie? lol Number of dislikes on YouTube are hilarious. Sonic just doesn't looks like Sonic. This should've been done as an animated movie.

Jim Carrey looks accurate as Dr. Robotnik and that's the only good thing about this.

Dental Surgery Delays ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’

When Paramount dropped the trailer for their live action CGI hybrid adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog, fans freaked on Twitter over the blue animal’s human teeth, calling them “creepy” and “nightmarish”.

As such director Jeff Fowler announced on Twitter today that the pic, which Paramount is banking on as an event film, is zooming from its Nov. 8 release to Feb. 14, 2020 next year so that the production can work further on character redesign. Fowler heard fans loud and clear three weeks ago. The original Sonic trailer clocked a great 31.4M views on YouTube. Paramount unveiled two at CinemaCon, one focused on the Hedgehog (which is the official one), and centering around Jim Carrey’s evil Dr. Robotnik.

When Paramount dropped the trailer for their live action CGI hybrid adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog, fans freaked on Twitter over the blue animal’s human teeth, calling them “creepy” and “nightmarish”.

As such director Jeff Fowler announced on Twitter today that the pic, which Paramount is banking on as an event film, is zooming from its Nov. 8 release to Feb. 14, 2020 next year so that the production can work further on character redesign. Fowler heard fans loud and clear three weeks ago. The original Sonic trailer clocked a great 31.4M views on YouTube. Paramount unveiled two at CinemaCon, one focused on the Hedgehog (which is the official one), and centering around Jim Carrey’s evil Dr. Robotnik.

   Taking a little more time to make Sonic just right.#novfxartistswereharmedinthemakingofthismovie pic.twitter.com/gxhu9lhU76

   — Jeff Fowler (@fowltown) May 24, 2019

   Thank you for the support. And the criticism. The message is loud and clear… you aren't happy with the design & you want changes. It's going to happen. Everyone at Paramount & Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be… #sonicmovie #gottafixfast

   — Jeff Fowler (@fowltown) May 2, 2019

UltimateMarvel wrote:I saw the redesign, he looks much better and cartoonish......as he should be.

UltimateMarvel wrote:The one with the human face kinda freaks me out, just not right. Kudos to them for making the change.