“Sonic the Hedgehog” from
Paramount Pictures, based on the iconic videogame character franchise from
Sega, was one of the surprise blockbuster hits of early 2020, and one fun
memory to take before COVID-19 overshadowed everything. The film itself had a
sequel hook, one that would be followed upon “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” first
teased this past February. Also teased later on, besides the obvious inclusion
of Sonic’s sidekick Tails is his rival Knuckles the Echidna. And then, after a
few months with no notable updates, the news just broke that Knuckles has just gotten
an actor cast to voice him.
Indeed, Yahoo News has it that actor Idris Elba confirmed this past
Tuesday, August 10, his inclusion to the cast of “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” as the
voice of Knuckles. And according to a new plot blurb following the
announcement, Knuckles indeed will make his first appearance in the capacity of
an antagonistic figure to the super-fast blue hedgehog, whose voice will be
reprised by Ben Schwarz. As for Elba, he has been well-experienced in roles
that are part of high adventure stories (the MCU for one), but his latest major
voice-acting role is being touted by fans as redemption for his previous CGI
outing.
Knock, knock....#SonicMovie2 #Knuckles pic.twitter.com/N1PW5XaCEd
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) August 10, 2021
By that, we mean Elba’s
appearance as Macavity in Universal’s 2019 big-screen adaptation of “Cats,”
which bombed mightily out of audiences being turned off by the “uncanny valley”
visual effects to make the actors portraying the cat characters look so
unsettlingly cat-like. While Knuckles as an all-CGI character would only
require Elba’s voice (he had acted out his “Cats” part in costume, makeup
prosthetics and SFX touchups), he will be a bit more effective in the role, a
sentiment shared by fans of the actor on social media in the wake of his
casting reveal.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” brings
back Jim Carrey as megalomaniacal mad scientist Dr. Robotnik, who is in search
of a new ultra-energy source called the Master Emerald, with Sonic (Ben
Schwarz) joined by Tails and his adoptive human family (played by James Marsden
and Tika Sumpter) having to stop him. However, Robotnik may have gotten help in
the form of Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba), appointed guardian of the Master
Emerald who believes Sonic to be trying to steal it, which would be dangerous because
the Emerald is powerful enough to make or break civilizations.
Paraount Pictures has slated the
film to premiere on April 2022. Tails was initially voiced by Colleen
O'Shaughnessy in the mid-credits teaser of the first “Sonic” movie, though it
seems the role may be recast.
Image courtesy of PEOPLE.com
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