In a swift blow to the sector of moviegoers who prefer their video game adaptations to be half-baked, Paramount has decided to push back the recently derided Sonic the Hedgehog movie.
In a tweet announcing the Sega adaptation's new release date, director Jeff Fowler (who previously worked on Where the Wild Things Are and Gopher Broke) said it was simply "taking a little more time to make Sonic just right." The lengthy accompanying hashtag, fittingly, affirmed that no VFX artists were harmed during production.
This, of course, is a reference to fears that the poor reception to the aesthetic choices displayed in recent key art and trailers would result in a hurried and overworked schedule to maintain the film's original November 2019 release date. Sonic will now arrive on Valentine's Day 2020, because nothing says I'm committed to this relationship quite like a furry blue anthropomorphic hedgehog with supersonic tendencies.
Production wrapped back in October, followed by some fan-maligned looks at the film's rendition of the title character, complete with perplexing muscularity and general creepiness. Swiftly following the full trailer, Fowler met the criticism with a vow to overhaul Sonic's appearance, claiming a studio-backed dedication to "making this character the best he can be."
The film stars James Marsden, Jim Carrey, and Tika Sumpter. The voice of Sonic is provided by Ben "BB-8" Schwartz of Parks and Recreation.
