Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will be released next week and Paramount Pictures has released a new clip that features the introduction of Knuckles. The super-powered echidna voiced by Idris Elba teams up with Jim Carrey’s Doctor Robotnik in order to find the Master Emerald and defeat Sonic. Speaking of Jim Carrey, it’s been great seeing him having a ball as the villain. Check out the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 clip above!
Paramount Pictures and Sega Corporation are already developing a third installment of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise as well as a live-action TV series revolving around Knuckles for Paramount+. While speaking with Polygon last year, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 director Jeff Fowler said that the arrival of Knuckles brings a new dynamic to the story.
Obviously, the nature of Robotnik and Sonic’s sort of rivalry and their battles have one sort of look and feel. But when you bring in a character like Knuckles, who has power, and in his many ways is just better suited for combat than Sonic is … When we ended the first film, Sonic’s been in one fight. That does not turn you into a superhero overnight, and you bring along a character like Knuckles whose entire existence is about honor and about being a warrior. And like right off the bat, Sonic is no match for that dude. So to tease that kind of confrontation like we did in the trailer, for fans to realize that that’s kind of where we’re going with it, where Knuckles is just a force of nature, and Sonic is out of his element at first because Knuckles is just more than he can handle — it felt like such dramatic sort of material, and such a great foundation to build a movie story around.
Fowler said that Idris Elba was eager to learn everything he could about Knuckles when he signed on. “He was just so eager to absorb it all, and workshop him into best version of the character,” Fowler said. “Which was awesome. It was great to see how much he cared about getting it right.“
The official synopsis for Sonic the Hedgehog 2:
After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is ready for more freedom, and Tom and Maddie agree to leave him home while they go on vacation. But no sooner are they gone, when Dr. Robotnik comes back, this time with a new partner, Knuckles, in search of an emerald that has the power to both build and destroy civilizations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, and together they embark on a journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will be released on April 8, 2022.