Sonic the Hedgehog (film)

Sonic the Hedgehog is an upcoming 2019 live-action animated film based on the video game franchise published by Sega. It is directed by Jeff Fowler in his directorial debut and written by Patrick Casey, Josh Miller and Oren Uziel, from a story by Van Robichaux and Evan Susser. The film stars Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog and Jim Carrey as Sonic's nemesis Dr. Robotnik, alongside James Marsden as Tom Wachowski, Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally, and Neal McDonough.

The film is an American–Japanese joint venture between Paramount Animation, Original Film, Sega, Blur Studio and Marza Animation Planet and is set to be released on November 8, 2019 by Paramount Pictures.

Synopsis
Small-town sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) journeys to San Francisco to assist Sonic (Ben Schwartz), a super-fast anthropomorphic blue hedgehog, in his battle against Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey).

Cast

 * Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, an anthropomorphic "juvenile delinquent" blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds and is on the run from the government.
 * James Marsden as Tom Wachowski, the newly appointed sheriff of Green Hills who befriends Sonic and aids him in his quest to stop Dr. Robotnik.
 * Tika Sumpter
 * Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik, a brilliant but insane scientist and inventor plotting world domination who is Sonic's nemesis.

Additionally, Lee Majdoub appears as Stone, an agent who works closely with Dr. Robotnik. Frank C. Turner also appears as Crazy Carl. Adam Pally, Natasha Rothwell, Neal McDonough, Debs Howard and Elfina Luk have been cast in undisclosed roles.

Development
Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired the rights to distribute a film based on Sonic the Hedgehog in 2013. On June 10, 2014, a live-action animated film based on Sonic the Hedgehog was announced as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Marza Animation Planet. It would be produced by Neal H. Moritz by his Original Film banner alongside Takeshi Ito, Mie Onishi and Toru Nakahara, and written by Evan Susser and Van Robichaux. In February 2016, Sega CEO Hajime Satomi stated the film was scheduled for 2018. Blur Studio's Tim Miller and Jeff Fowler were hired in 2016 to develop the film; Fowler would make his directorial debut, and both Miller and Fowler would executive produce. Patrick Casey, Josh Miller and Oren Uziel were writing the screenplay.

On October 2, 2017, Paramount Pictures announced that they had acquired the rights after Sony Pictures' Columbia Pictures put the film into turnaround. However, most of the production team remained unchanged. In February 2018, it was announced that the movie would be released in November 2019.

Casting
On May 29, 2018, it was reported that Paul Rudd was in talks for a lead role as Tom, "a cop who befriends Sonic and will likely team up to defeat Dr. Eggman," but was later denied. A day later, it was announced that James Marsden was cast in an undisclosed role, but later revealed to be Tom Wachowski. In June 2018, Tika Sumpter was cast. Jim Carrey was cast to play the villain, Dr. Robotnik. In August 2018, Ben Schwartz joined the cast of the film voicing the title character. A few days later, Adam Pally and Neal McDonough were cast. Debs Howard and Elfina Luk already joined the cast.

Filming
Principal photography took place from July 24, 2018 and ended in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ladysmith and Vancouver Island on October 16, 2018. Post-production began and ended in October in New York.

Design
The production team created a realistic version of Sonic, adding fur, new running shoes, two separate eyes, and a more human-like physique. They used Ted, the living teddy bear from the Ted films, as a reference to insert a CG character into a real-world setting. Executive producer Tim Miller said: "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." According to Miller, Sega was not "entirely happy" with the design of Sonic's eyes.

Release
Sonic the Hedgehog was initially scheduled for a 2018 release by Columbia Pictures. However, after the turnaround, Paramount Pictures rescheduled it to November 15, 2019, before changing it again. The film is set for release in the United States on November 8, 2019.

Marketing
Test footage was screened at the Comic Con Experience in Brazil on December 6, 2018. A teaser poster was released on December 10, 2018, revealing the redesigned Sonic. The design was likened to those from another 2019 video game film adaptation, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, which added fur and skin textures to the Pokémon characters. Many fans reacted negatively to the redesign on social media. Former members of Sonic Team, who created the original Sonic the Hedgehog games, expressed surprise at the design.

A second poster for the film was leaked online shortly after the release of the first. Some observers criticized the design, stating that Sonic's legs were positioned unnaturally, spawning an internet meme in which users recreated the position with humorous results.