Sonic the Hedgehog (film)

Sonic the Hedgehog is an upcoming 2019 American live-action animated film based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series created by Sega. The film is written by Patrick Casey, Josh Miller and Oren Uziel, from a story by Van Robichaux and Evan Susser, and directed by Jeff Fowler (in his directoral debut). The film stars Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog, and Jim Carrey as Sonic's nemesis Dr. Eggman, alongside James Marsden as Tom Wachowski, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, and Neal McDonough. It is scheduled for release in the United States on November 8, 2019 by Paramount Pictures.

Synopsis
Small town sheriff Tom Wachowski goes on a journey to San Francisco in his efforts to assist Sonic, a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog, in his battle against the evil Dr. Eggman, while the government is trying to catch him at the same time.

Cast

 * Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, a mysterious anthropomorphic "juvenile delinquent" blue hedgehog who can run at super-sonic speeds and is on the run from the government. Schwartz will also provide Sonic’s likeness via motion capture.
 * James Marsden as Tom Wachowski, a small town police officer turned newly-appointed deputy sheriff who befriends Sonic and aids him in his quest to stop Dr. Eggman.
 * Tika Sumpter as Mrs. Wachowski
 * Lee Majdoub as Stone, a secret "agent" who works closely for Robotnik.
 * Jim Carrey as Ivo Robotnik / Dr. Eggman, a brilliant but insane scientist and inventor plotting world domination that is Sonic's nemesis. Carrey describes his portrayal of Dr. Eggman as "magic".

Additionally, Adam Pally, Natasha Rothwell , Frank C. Turner and Neal McDonough have been cast in undisclosed roles.

Development
Sega attemped to make a Sonic movie back in 1994, when Sega of America signed a deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Trilogy Entertainment to produce a live-action/CGI movie based on the Sonic the Hedgehog series, which would tie-in to the then-upcoming release of Sonic X-treme on Sega Saturn. A treatment was pitched to Sega by Richard Jeffries, titled Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World, in May 1995. Ultimately, the movie was cancelled as none of the three companies could come to an agreement on the deal. Jeffries, with the permission from Sega, later pitched his treatment to DreamWorks, but was rejected.

Nearly 2 decades later, Sony Pictures Entertainment then acquired the rights to distribute a film based on Sonic the Hedgehog in 2013. On June 10, 2014, a live-action animated film based on Sonic the Hedgehog was announced as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Marza Animation Planet. It would be produced by Neal H. Moritz by his Original Film banner alongside Takeshi Ito, Mie Onishi, and Toru Nakahara and written by Evan Susser and Van Robichaux. In February 2016, Sega CEO Hajime Satomi stated the film was scheduled for 2018. Blur Studio's Tim Miller and Jeff Fowler were hired in 2016 to develop the film; Fowler would make his directorial debut, and both Miller and Fowler would executive produce. Patrick Casey and Josh Miller were writing the screenplay. On October 2nd, 2017, Paramount Pictures announced that they had acquired the rights after Sony Pictures' Columbia Pictures put the film into turnaround. However, most of the production team remained unchanged. In February 2018, it was announced that the movie would have a November 2019 release.

Casting
On May 29, 2018, it was reported that Paul Rudd was in talks for a lead role as Tom, "a cop who befriends Sonic and will likely team up to defeat Dr. Eggman," but was later denied. A day later, it was announced that James Marsden was cast in an undisclosed role, but later revealed to be Tom Wachowski. In June 2018, Tika Sumpter was cast in the role of the wife of Tom Wachowski. Jim Carrey was cast to play the villain, Doctor Robotnik. In August 2018, Ben Schwartz joined the cast of the film voicing the titular character. A few days later, Adam Pally and Neal McDonough were cast.

Filming
Principal photography began on July 30, 2018 in Vancouver, British Columbia and ended on October 16, 2018. The film was shot under the working title Casino Night, a reference to the level in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Filming also took place in Ladysmith, on Vancouver Island, from September 14th through to September 20th, 2018.

Release
Sonic the Hedgehog was originally slated for a 2018 release by Columbia Pictures. Paramount Pictures rescheduled it to November 15, 2019 after the turnaround, before changing it again. It is now scheduled to be released in the United States on November 8, 2019.