Director Jeff Fowler announced this morning that his upcoming
Sonic the Hedgehog movie has been delayed three months from November 8th to February 14, 2020 to allow his visual effects team more time to completely redesign the character's controversial look into something more akin to his classic video game appearance.
Fowler initially
confirmed the redesign at the beginning of the month, in the aftermath of the immense backlash to the teaser trailer. At the time, it was rumored a complete redesign would take approximately three months to complete and implement into the film, which seemed doable, but considering the time crunch, it was probably a tall order for the visual effects team. A delay was likely inevitable, although it is a wise decision on Paramount's part to make the call now as they'll get a polished product in February and they also won't have two potential tentpoles opening within weeks of each other this fall as Tim Miller's
Terminator: Dark Fate is set for November 1st.
Fowler shared the following tweet and while it isn't particularly revealing, star Ben Schwartz (
Parks and Recreation), who voices the titular hero, was quick to point out on
Instagram that the image does feature Sonic with gloves, so it looks like the final look will indeed be considerably more faithful to the video game.
To view every photo at once, simply click on the VIEW LIST (ONE PAGE) button below!
While the trailer introduced this version of Sonic (Ben Schwartz), last night's
unexpected statement from director Jeff Fowler seems to indicate that this won't be the final version of the character we get in November as the production team is now hard-at-work on a complete redesign.
2x Golden Globe-winner Jim Carrey will be sporting at least two different looks in the film - one will be the classic video game Doctor Eggman look and the other will be his Dr. Robotnik mad scientist look.
Detective Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) will apparently be the first to cross paths with Sonic (Ben Schwartz) when he arrives from his home world and will undoubtedly be thrown for a loop when he meets the speedster hedghog.
It appears Sonic's (Ben Schwartz) arrival won't be much of a secret as the government plans a way to capture him by enlisting the servies of the insane scientist Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey).
While the film may be far from finished, the early buzz is that Jim Carrey steals the show with his performance as Dr. Ivo Robotnik, which probably shouldn't come as a surprise considering the 2x Golden Globe-winner's body of work.
In the top still, Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey) rips Major Bennington (Neal McDonough) a new one while the latter still sees Tom Wachowski's shocked look when he discovers Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz).
Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey) will be pulling out all the stops to bring down Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and it appears that we'll get to see him unleash a number of his most dastardly robots on the speedster.
In one of the trailer's funniest moments, Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey) taste tests one of Sonic's super-charged quills. Could he attempt to use the quill to develop a weapon to use against the fan-favorite hedgehog?
We get to see Sonic (Ben Schwartz) use his classic golden rings to save his new friends Tom (James Marsden) and Annie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter), which should help explain how he's able to travel from location to location without exerting too much energy running.
Sonic (Ben Schwartz) faces Dr. Ivo Robotnik's (Jim Carrey) legion of robots in the first photo while the second sees Tom (James Marsden) and Annie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter) attempt to sneak Sonic upstairs, which seems to be easier said than done.
This shot is our introductory look at Sonic (Ben Schwartz) as he stretches his legs before getting into high-speed heroics.
While his look will be revamped before the next trailer, the movie does seem to have captured Sonic's speed quite well and now, we'll just have to wait and see if the movie will see him go Super Sonic as well.
Sonic (Ben Schwartz) breaks the sound barrier as he zips off on an all-new adventure that - once his look is reworked - promises to leave fans of the iconic video game hero enthralled.
The good-hearted, but slightly cocky, Sonic (Ben Schwartz) seems to have the same personality fans have come to know and love and here he is capturing the favor of his new human friend Tom (James Marsden).
Sonic (Ben Schwartz) leaps into action against Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and his evil robot minions.
One of Sonic's (Ben Schwartz) most iconic traits is undoubtedly his classic spinball and here we see it realized in live-action for the first time ever. Pretty awesome.
Sonic (Ben Schwartz) doesn't seem satisfied with taking down just one robot and confidently asks for more and it looks like Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey) will be more than happy to send out more.
Sonic (Ben Schwartz) will have to face threats unlike any he's ever seen before and it also looks like his adventure will take him to Egypt where he engages in a high-speed chase with a high-tech drone.
Executive producer Tim Miller initially explained the change to Sonic's (Ben Schwartz) classic design by saying they wanted to create a realistic speedster hedgehog, but after significant fan backlash, it appears they'll be giving him a complete redesign before November.
In a fun moment, Sonic (Ben Schwartz) realizes he's just crossed 9,000 steps for the day and then, the second seems to reveal Doctor Eggman (Jim Carrey), in all his glory, in what appears to be the Mushroom HIll Zone, which is a level from
Sonic & Knuckles. Could we see the red echidna also make a surprise appearance? (Let's hope so!)
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SONIC THE HEDGEHOG is a live-action adventure comedy based on the global blockbuster videogame franchise from Sega that centers on the infamously brash bright blue hedgehog. The film 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 also stars Tika Sumpter and Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic.
Sonic the Hedgehog features:
Director: Jeff Fowler
Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog
Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik/Doctor Eggman
James Marsden as Tom Wachowski
Tika Sumpter as Dr. Annie Wachowski
Adam Pally in an undisclosed role
Neal McDonough as Major Bennington
Lee Majdoub as Stone
Frank C. Turner as Crazy Carl
Natasha Rothwell in an undisclosed role
Debs Howard in an undisclosed role
Elfina Luk in an undisclosed role
Riff Raff in an undisclosed role
Sonic the Hedgehog speeds into theaters November 8