More than 28 years after Sonic the Hedgehog gave Sega a temporary rivalry against Nintendo (which did not end well for them) the '90s mainstay is slated to hit the big screen. The new release date is much closer than it was in 2014, which is when the cinematic adaption was originally announced.
According to Deadline, Paramount has scheduled a film for the titular blue blur to drop on November 15, 2019. The flick will be produced by Neal H. Moritz, whose enormous resume is highlighted by: I Am Legend, both 21 and 22 Jump Street, and also all the Fast & Furious movies. In addition to that, Sonic will be executive produced by Deadpool director Tim Miller, and directed by relative newbie Jeff Fowler. Deadline also adds that the video game inspired title will be a combination of CGI characters and live action.
This will not be nearly the first time that someone has tried to translate Sonic into some sort of scripted entertainment property, as he's previously been the star of five different TV series', including a '90s one where he was voiced by Jaleel White. He's also been in his own long-running comic book series and has been turned into anime. Since he's known by most everyone as a video game character, it's worth noting that he's been the lead in 90+ games on a number of platforms. As of 2016 he had helped Sega sell 80+ million physical copies. That number actually sounds kind of low to me, but he's also helped move 350+ million units when you add those sales to mobile downloads.
Of course, Sonic does his best work when he's going left to right on your TV in 2D. Now how exactly they plan to translate that to a big screen narrative? Well, I don't really know. But that's what they get paid for.
