Yes, that’s right! Everyone’s favourite blue hedgehog is heading to the big screen after Paramount acquired the rights to develop a feature length film. The film will be created using a mixture of live action and CG elements and will be produced by Neal Moritz (I Am Legend and The Fast and the Furious) with Tim Miller (director of Deadpool) taking up the position of Executive Producer.
While I’m a big Sonic the Hedgehog fan, I’m a little pessimistic about this project. The Sonic games franchise aren’t exactly well known for their deep engaging storylines and how well the live action medium will match the character of the franchise, best known for its 2d side scrolling platform days, is yet to be seen. I, personally, feel that a Wreck it Ralph CG style would be a better fit than going live action, but I’m sure the project team working on it are more experienced in movie production than me.
It’s well known that video game franchises struggle to make the jump to the big screen. Many franchises with storylines more suited to a movie medium have failed to make a big box office impact, and I struggle to see how Sonic the Hedgehog will manage to leap that gap (perhaps Tails will be on standby to give him a lift). While Sonic the Hedgehog himself is an icon, the games were loved mainly because of the fast side scrolling gameplay, a feature I can’t see translating well to a movie format. However, we live in a world of technological marvels and near endless boundaries in terms of visual effects, so perhaps this movie will surprise fans and the cinema going population alike. It’s certainly a project to watch.
