Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2020 action-adventure comedy film based on the video game series published by Sega. The film was directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, and stars Ben Schwartz (as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog), James Marsden, and Jim Carrey. The plot follows Sonic, a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds, who teams up with a town sheriff to stop the mad scientist Dr. Robotnik. Development for a Sonic film began in the 1990s but did not leave the planning stage until Sony Pictures acquired the film rights in 2013. Fowler was brought in to direct in 2016. After Sony put the project in turnaround, Paramount Pictures acquired it in 2017. Most of the cast signed on by August 2018. Principal photography took place between September and October that year in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island. Following the negative reaction to the first trailer, released in April 2019, Paramount delayed the film by three months to redesign Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog premiered at the Paramount Pictures studio lot on January 25, 2020, before its theatrical release in the United States on February 14, and received mixed reviews from critics. It set the record for the biggest opening weekend for a video game film in the United States and Canada and grossed $319.7 million worldwide, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 2020 and the highest-grossing video game film adaptation in North America. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released in 2022, while Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is scheduled for December 2024. A spin-off miniseries, Knuckles, premiered on Paramount+ in 2024.