Idris Elba will be voice of Knuckles the Echidna for the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie. The renowned actor has confirmed the role with a quick little message and photo posted on Twitter last night. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is planned to release in movie theatres on 8th April 2022.
Knock, knock….#SonicMovie2 #Knuckles pic.twitter.com/N1PW5XaCEd
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) August 10, 2021
This casting announcement was much more thought provoking than the “extremely obvious” announcement of the film’s title made earlier this year. Back in February, the movie Twitter account confirmed that the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie will in fact be called Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with a logo reveal that features two tails on the number 2.
That logo hint obviously refers to the two-tailed fox known as Tails to fans of the franchise, but even that was extremely obvious for anyone that watched the original film and stuck around for the teaser post-credits scene, which featured, well…. Tails!
Knuckles was also widely expected to appear in the sequel, but it’s still a nice surprise to have an actor of Idris Elba’s stature taking on the part.
Sonic the Hedgehog was a big hit at the box office in the pre-pandemic start to 2020. The film sprinted past the previous record for a video game movie’s opening weekend, set in 2019 by Detective Pikachu, managing to overcome an extensive delay and redevelopment to be a success. The film sees Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, making a new life for himself on Earth. After setting off an EMP pulse that knocks out power across a large part of North America, the US government puts Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik on his tail, forcing Sonic to make a new best friend in Tom, played by James Marsden, and road trip across America. It doesn’t really make too much sense, but then it’s a video game movie for kids.
The 10 best Sonic games, according to Metacritic
We reviewed it on its cinematic debut, calling it “A solid, fun and watchable family film, Sonic The Hedgehog doesn’t always hang together, but it does at least do justice to one of gaming’s most iconic characters.”
Elsewhere in the Sonic-verse, Netflix announced Sonic Prime, a new animated series that is in development for the streaming giant, while LEGO has announced that they will be taking the fan-suggested Sonic the Hedgehog set and making it a reality.
Source: Twitter
Dominic L
This is quite possibly the best idea ever. Idris Elba is one of the greatest out there, and he was amazing in Suicide Squad.
Here’s hoping for a bit more of Sonic’s home planet this time. And that Tails isn’t as annoying as he is in the games.
MrYd
Was he in Suicide Squad? Or the recent The Suicide Squad?
He was also in The Dark Tower, and look how that turned out. (Ok, the fact that he was completely wrong for the part there was the least of that films issues)
Dominic L
Yes yes, The Suicide Squad. And we can’t blame Elba for The Dark Tower being complete and utter bobbins.
Tuffcub
The only thing amazing about The Suicide Squad is that it manages to be worse than the first film.
Dominic L
I really don’t see it! I absolutely loved it – it was just more violent Guardians of the Galaxy?