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If you wanted to see that “It’s the Winter Soldier” clip in its actual context, Paramount Picture’s latest promo clips provides it.
This is perhaps the first real look we’ve had at Sonic and Knuckles’ dynamic in the movie. If you’re on spoiler lockdown right now, don’t look at the clip, but everyone else can take a look below:
If I my break my usual efforts to purely put facts in my news articles…I rather what’s being shown here.
With Sonic 2 opening in its first markets in just a week, we have finally gotten the movie’s main theme, “Stars in the Sky” by Kid Cudi.
The music video features lovely spritework and loads of references to other games, including Sonic the Fighters and Sonic Adventure. A trio of sprite artists worked on the sprite graphics for this trailer. One of them posted a special piece of art to celebrate the video’s release. You can check that and their twitter handles out below:
And the music video:
If you hadn’t caught it, the official Sonic YouTube channel teased bringing the Sonic Vtuber models stateside in the form of a Tails “streaming” series, TailsTube. The first episode premiered today, and it came with some answers to a longstanding question in the modern franchise.
Continue reading How Does Sonic’s World Work? TailsTube’s First Episode Finally Gives an AnswerSonic’s returned to Build-a-Bear, and this time, he’s brought some friends and rivals.
Continue reading Movie Sonic, Tails & Knuckles Come to Build-a-Bear [UPDATED Mar. 30]Well, we have finally entered that period of time between a movie’s early red carpet debut, and when the rest of us get to see it! We are still a few days away from actual reviews being written, but people in the media who’ve seen the movie have started sharing their thoughts…and they are pretty positive so far!
A few of these impressions also confirm at least one after credits scene, though others seem to indicate more than one. This means you should definitely stick around once the credits role.
Before going into the impressions, a caveat: these are not written reviews. They do not reflect what may be the larger consensus at places like Rotten Tomatoes or within the Sonic fandom. The people posting these tweets may not even be the ones writing the reviews for their outlets! So keep all of that in mind. Reviews will apparently go live
First off, impressions from a guy who writes for IGN.
Next, more in depth impressions from Cinema Blend’s Mike Reyes.
Next up is Nikki Novak, a Fandango correspondent and member of the Critics Choice Awards.
Dorian Park, owner of Geeks of Color, had a lot to say about the movie’s characters and cinematography.
Erik Davis, the “Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango guy,” said Sonic and Tails’ relationship is the best part of the movie.
Ash Crosson, lead content producer and host of Screen Rant, called it a “worthy successor.”
Kevin Polowy, a Yahoo Entertainment correspondent calls it…the Godfather II of Sonic movies? Which I supposes indicates its better than the first.
Chris Killian, who works for Comicbook.co
Finally, Dana who works for, among other organizations, the African American Film Critics Association, posted both a tweet AND a video, which we’ve posted below:
This is the part where I figured I’d post some less publicized negative impressions I was expecting to dig up. No luck yet. So instead, here is the one impression I found from someone who doesn’t work for a media organization:
Sonic 2 will hit the UK April 1, while it’ll be arriving in the US a week later on April 8. Select US theaters will have the movie as early as April 6.
While revealing the most horrifying contest prize conceived by mankind, Xbox Wire also announced that the Sonic the Hedgehog DLC for Minecraft will be getting an update. On top of the existing player and world skins, the update will add six additional skins, and a new challenge in the Labyrinth Zone section.
We don’t have any details on what these are, but considering the promotion aligns with the release of Paramount’s Sonic 2 movie, was announced alongside a Sonic 2 movie contest, and highlights a level motif that has become rather important to the Sonic 2 movie, it’s probably safe to say that the new skins and challenge will have something to do with the Sonic 2 movie.
The update will be available on the Minecraft Marketplace on April 5th.
UPDATE: Contest tweet has gone live. We’ve embedded it in the article.
Today, Xbox Wire has announced a contest to win a custom Sonic 2 Movie Sonic vs. Knuckles-styled Xbox Series S along with two truly reprehensible controllers covered entirely in thick blue and red fur.
Continue reading You Can Win These Horrifying Sonic 2 Controllers from XboxDuring an October 2021 investor presentation, WildBrain, the animation company producing Sonic Prime for Netflix, took the opportunity to play up their technical advancements while working on the series. Sonic Paradise picked up on the statement and grabbed a clip from the video presentation:
Sonic has provided an amazing opportunity for us on the 3D side. It has allowed us to sort of reevaluate our 3D pipeline and really examine where the value-add is in that. We’ve added a number of new software packages and methodologies to the pipeline. We’re able to provide a really cinematic look that is honestly making it feel like a Marvel movie when we get into the action sequences.
Logan McPherson, WildBrain Investors Day Transcript, Oct. 5, 2021
Calling action sequences Marvel-like is a tall order, but this was specifically aimed at investors, and comparing something to Disney has become easy “it will look good” shorthand for those who aren’t interested in a nuanced discussion of the technical details. However, it does reaffirms a dedication to Sonic Prime being an action series, in contrast to 2014’s Sonic Boom, which played out more sitcom than action-adventure.
Details on the series itself remain tight, including its release window (still expected this year), leading some to worry about its production, schedule, and staffing. This may not alleviate all concerns, but it does give a window into how WildBrain is approaching the series’ technical demands. WildBrain’s current catalog includes many CG animated series across dozens of networks and licensing partnerships, but few CG shows they’ve produced in recent years would qualify as “action.”
After well over a year of build up, we are finally reaching IDW Sonic’s 50th issue. The issue is scheduled to release just a day before Sonic’s 31st anniversary, on June 22. Curiously, while the issue’s listed price is $7.99, double the comics usual price, one of the covers has a list price of $3.99.
Check out the solicit and the two released covers below. The primary cover features art by Yui Karasuno, who has frequently done art for Sonic Team in the past. The retail incentive cover was drawn by Nathalie Fourdraine. A currently-unrevealed third cover will feature art by the comic’s lead writer, Evan Stanley. This issue will be written by Ian Flynn, and feature interior art by Adam Bryce Thomas.
(W) Ian Flynn (A) Adam Bryce Thomas (CA) Sonic Team (Yui Karasuno)
Sonic the Hedgehog #50 is here! To celebrate, this issue features two Sonics! And two Tails! Wait… One of them is green… And the other has tails made out of water?! Imposters! And they’re working with Dr. Starline?! After assembling a squad of bad guys, kidnapping Belle, starting a forest fire, and causing chaos in Central City, Starline is finally ready to unleash his monstrous imposters: Surge and Kit! Will his meticulous planning be enough to defeat Sonic and Dr. Eggman? The throne is only big enough for one!
In Shops: Jun 22, 2022
SRP: 7.99
via PreviewsWorld and Tails Channel
Following the reveal of the new toy line coming to McDonald’s Happy Meals later this year, McDonald’s Indonesia posted a commercial to Twitter featuring an original CG animation of Sonic and Tails.
Continue reading Sonic Selfies with Nuggets in New McDonald’s Indonesia CommercialAfter a week of teasing the release, Stéphane Legar now has his Sonic 2 movie soundtrack single “Speed Life” available to listen to on his YouTube.
Continue reading Stéphane Legar Releases Single “Speed Life” for Sonic 2 MovieTails is a Vtuber now, apparently! Via an announcement on Twitter, SEGA has revealed “TailsTube,” a new “informative” web series about all things Sonic. This series will be hosted by a Vtuber avatar of Tails voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey. Beyond what’s revealed in the tweet, not much else is really known about the show. Will there be announcements? Interviews? Game presentations? We’ll just have to see.
You can check out the brief announcement video in the tweet embedded below. The show will launch sometime next week.
This isn’t the first time Sonic characters have become vtubers. Last year, SEGA of Japan turned Sonic into a vtuber for the franchise’s 30th anniversary. Tails later joined him in a stream in December. This is the first time this will be done in English, though.
The Late Late Show With James Corden debuted a new Sonic 2 clip during a lengthy interview with Sonic 2 actor James Marsden and Minnie Driver.
The clip focuses on what appears to be one of the movie’s B-plots, as Tom tries to get along with his sister-in-law during her wedding. Corden also briefly interviewed Marsden before the clip. You can check out both the clip and the interview below:
We’re just a week away from the release of IDW’s Sonic 2 prequel comic, and you all know what that means: preview pages!
Courtesy of Apple Books, the fist three pages of the comic have been released. The pages are drawn by Adam Bryce Thomas and feature writing by Keil Phegley. In addition to the pages, we also got the titles for all five stories: Hedgehog Day Afternoon, Always Bet on Red, Mushroom With a View, The Secret of My Distress, and Two For the Road. If I had to guess, “Mushroom With a View” will be the Robotnik story that had input from Jim Carrey.
The comic will be available next week, on March 23!
You can check out the preview pages and comic synopsis below:
Catch up with Sonic and friends-if you can-in this exclusive prequel to 2022’s most anticipated family film! Life is good in Green Hills for Sonic the Hedgehog . . . maybe too good. He’s starting to get bored, and when Sonic gets bored, things become a lot less boring for everyone else-fast! Quicker than you can say “Chili Dog,” the Fastest Thing Alive is saving the day and causing all sorts of chaos along the way! Plus, new and returning characters starring in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film take the lead in stories of their own!
via Apple Books Store Page
With April 8th rapidly approaching, Paramount has released their “Final Trailer” for Sonic 2, featuring loads of previously unseen footage, a super-powered Jim Carrey, and lots of Sonic vs. Knuckles action.
The trailer links the previously shown scenes of Tom at the wedding in Hawaii, and Sonic snowboarding during an avalanche and robot attack. It’s also the first major interaction we’ve seen between the speedy and headstrong Sonic and the serious and… astoundingly physically strong Knuckles. Tails still has minimal appearance, no dialog, and spends most of the trailer unconscious, so we don’t yet have a sense of how the movie portrays his dynamic with Sonic. There’s also slightly more pop culture references that will assuredly not age well, and a simple and direct game reference early on that will pique fans’ interests.
At the same time, a new movie poster has surfaced, featuring a recreation of the famous Sonic 2 North American and European box art (you’ll notice Knuckles’ reflection in the 2 itself).
Leading up to this reveal, Paramount released two short trailers, including a March Madness-centered trailer titled “Madness,” and a gag trailer they’ve pitched as the “Sonic Cut.”
And yeah, the “Sonic Cut” trailer is actually a series of one-frame shots with several gag images thrown in, including…
With this new trailer, we finally have a stronger sense of what the movie will actually be about, a more thorough look at the owl temple that possibly links Sonic, Knuckles, and Long Claw, and further confirmation that the Master Emerald will play a central role. All that’s left is the slightly-less-than-one-month wait until its release date!
Thanks to Josiahblaze, Mr. Needlemouse and all the folks over at our news tips Discord channel!
Here’s hoping they’ll release a Nack the Weasel plush too.
Continue reading 10-Inch Fang the Sniper Now Available from GE EntertainmentSo, we’ve known about that Sonic 2 movie “Pre-quill” comic for a little while now, and the comic’s writer Keil Phegley has dropped a few new interesting details. The comic will have 40 pages with five stories focusing on different characters from the movie. Among those stories will be a Robotnik-centered one, featuring contributions by none other than character’s actor himself, Jim Carrey.
It is important to note that Phegley’s exact words for Carrey’s contribution was “spearheading.” Carrey does not have a writer’s credit in the comic solicitation.
The comic will hit comic stores on March 23rd for $6.99, and will feature art by Tracey Yardley!, Adam Bryce Thomas, and Evan Stanley. Quite an all-star time for a Sonic comic! It will feature stories set between the two movies. Check out the full solicitation below:
Catch up with Sonic and friends-if you can-in this exclusive prequel to 2022’s most anticipated family film! Life is good in Green Hills for Sonic the Hedgehog . . . maybe too good. He’s starting to get bored, and when Sonic gets bored, things become a lot less boring for everyone else-fast! Quicker than you can say “Chili Dog,” the Fastest Thing Alive is saving the day and causing all sorts of chaos along the way! Plus, new and returning characters starring in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film take the lead in stories of their own!
Chibi Sonic and friends coming soon to a dining table near you!
Continue reading Zygomatic Games Reveals the Cutest Little Sonic Board Game, Sonic Super TeamsWell, it seems that all but one of the McDonald’s Sonic 2 Happy Meal toys have been leaked.
In an image that was apparently posted on the McDonalds Australia website showed off all but one of the upcoming plastic McDonald’s toys, and has now made its way to Twitter. The image confirms that McDonalds will be producing three Knuckles toys, three Tails toys, two Sonic toys, and a Giant Eggman Robot toy. A tenth “surprise” toy wasn’t shown. You can check the toys out below:
With the movie only a month out, the official unveiling of these toys should be imminent. Perhaps someone over at McDonald’s Australia accidentally pulled the trigger a few days early.
EDIT: Seems the final toy has been leaked via a Youtube video, and is apparently a spoiler. We don’t be posting it here. As we approach the movie’s release, it’ll be more difficult to avoid spoilers on social media, we recommend following these steps.
Last month, most of McDonalds’ upcoming Sonic 2 happy meal toys were leaked. However, the plastic toys will not be coming to the company’s UK and Irish locations, and will instead be replaced by plastic-free toys.
The existence of toys was initially confirmed by a photo posted by a Facebook user, which was then shared to Twitter by Dave Luty. Luty than shared photos of what appears to be packaging for the toys taken off of a computer. The toys appear to be centered on Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. In addition to the toys, the photos also confirm a “book option.”
The person who took the second group of photos Luty posted speculated that the toys were likely paper dioramas and board games. You can check out the photos below:
The UK and Ireland are getting different Sonic toys due to a 2020 pledge from McDonalds UK & Ireland to reduce their use of plastics by eliminating plastic toys, and instead move towards toys made out of paper or cloth. McDonalds as a whole will be phasing out plastic toys by 2025.
We don’t yet know what these toys will be, but once we do we’ll report on it, so stay tuned! Hopefully McDonalds will officially unveil their toys soon.
If you fancy getting fit for 2022, SEGA and the virtual run company Medal Dash may have just given you a good incentive. The game publisher and fitness group have announced a partnership that will see the launch of a Sonic the Hedgehog-themed campaign, with medals and exclusive merchandise available for those who take part.
Continue reading SEGA Announces Sonic x Medal Dash Partnership – Run For Sonic Merch!UPDATE: The box art had a rather significant spoiler I missed. Also, Sonic Jenny said Jakks Pacific asked her to remove the images. Given those two things, we’re just going to go ahead and remove the images pre-emptively. We’re currently leaving details regarding what the playset is about, however.
Original Story:
The Sonic 2 movie is now just a month away, and more merchandise has just gotten leaked. Today? A playset centered around the Giant Eggman Robot we first saw in a trailer.
We put up a spoiler warning because the playset potentially hints at something regarding where Sonic will be fighting the robot.
This playset is likely a part of the Jakks Pacific wave 2 that was revealed a few days ago.
These images were posted on Twitter by @SonicJenny, who said it was shared on her Discord server.
via Twitter
It’s a Sonic community event that celebrates its 20th birthday this year, but that doesn’t mean it is going to be taking the year off. The Sonic Hacking Contest is back for 2022!
Continue reading The 2022 Sonic Hacking Contest Has Been AnnouncedParamount Pictures has announced that it has halted the theatrical releases of all of its upcoming feature films, including Sonic the Hedgehog 2, in Russia. The confirmation from the studio comes following mainstream news reports of Russian forces invading Ukraine last week.
Continue reading Paramount Pauses Release of Sonic Movie 2 in RussiaIn an interview with Sonic Revolution, Sonic Mania lead Christian Whitehead made several revelations about the development of the 2017 title.
Along with tidbits about the origins of the Hard-Boiled Heavies and the nature of whether or not animals are inside of them, Whitehead also spoke about Sonic Team’s initial concept to include Sonic Forces’ antagonist Infinite in the 2D platformer.
Listen to the answer in it’s entirity below:
Jakks Pacific’s latest waves of Sonic toys have been revealed, and they include some rarely and never-before-seen faces!
In their upcoming 9th wave of Sonic 4 inch figures, Egg Robo makes its action figure debut. It also includes Espio, who hasn’t had a figure since that one Jazzware figure years ago. The wave also includes Modern Sonic with a star spring, and Modern Tails with an invincibility box.
Perhaps the most notable new addition is the Ray the Flying Squirrel plush, which will be a part of their 7th wave of plushes. In the character’s almost 30 years of existence, this will be his very first official plush. Jade Wisp also makes their plush debut as a part of this wave, which also includes reissues of Mighty (who debuted last year) and Modern Sonic.
An 8th wave of 2.5 inch figures was also revealed, which includes Classic Sonic, Classic Knuckles, Classic Eggman, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Modern Tails.
Finally, a second wave of 4 inch Sonic movie figures has also been revealed, though no details have been confirmed.
via Sonic Merch News
Great Eastern Entertainment continue their incredible line of Sonic-themed plushes with everyone’s favourite frog-finding robot E-102 Gamma!
The plush is the first incarnation of the Sonic Adventure character since the game’s release in 1998, and commands a significantly lower price than the ultra-scarce original fetches via online auctions.
The plush joins the 12″ range which also recently added Emerl and Tangle the Lemur to the roster.
The plush is now available via GE Entertainment’s website, grab them before they fly off the shelves!
Yet another Paramount Sonic controversy has found a positive ending, as a new version of last week’s Sonic 2 movie poster has been found on the website for UK cinema chain Cineworld, featuring the names of both Tika Sumpter and Coleen O’Shaughnessey.
The original version of the poster was revealed during an IGN online event, and only highlights Marsden, Schwartz, Elba, and Carrey, despite Sumpter and O’Shaughnessey’s characters prominently appearing in the art. While cast names on posters is often decided through the actors’ contracts and negotiations, this exclusion drew the ire of Sonic fans, those supporting O’Shaughnessey, and others supporting the broader treatment of voice actors in TV and film.
It’s unclear to what extent Paramount intends to propagate this version of the poster. At time of writing, the old version still appears on both Fandango and Regal Cinemas (an American subsidiary of Cineworld).
Thanks to Josiahblaze for the news tip!
If you’re looking forward to Paramount’s upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie sequel, IDW will be publishing a one-off special to take place between the two movies. Per the issue’s solicitations via comicreleases.com, it will hit stores around March 23, with Kiel Phegley writing, and Thomas, Yardley, and Stanley on art. The solicitations also provide the issue’s synopsis:
Catch up with Sonic and friends—if you can—in this exclusive prequel to 2022’s most anticipated family film! Life is good in Green Hills for Sonic the Hedgehog . . . maybe too good. He’s starting to get bored, and when Sonic gets bored, things become a lot less boring for everyone else—fast! Quicker than you can say “Chili Dog,” the Fastest Thing Alive is saving the day and causing all sorts of chaos along the way! Plus, new and returning characters starring in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film take the lead in stories of their own!
Tails’ Channel reported on the cover of this upcoming one-off special:
This is not the first promotional special IDW has put out. In 2018, the publisher released a one -shot book promoting Team Sonic Racing prior to the game’s release. This is the first time, however, IDW is tackling a Sonic franchise branch outside of the world of the games.
SEGA has formally kicked off a weekend of streams to raise money for the UK’s annual GameBlast charity event. A group consisting of SEGA reps and fan streamers have come together to collectively support, in aid of games accessibility charity Special Effect.
Continue reading SEGA Launches Charity Stream Series for GameBlast 22Start your engines. Now turn off your engines because March isn’t until next week.
Continue reading Team Sonic Racing Hits PlayStation Plus in MarchA few weeks ago, we reported on some leaked images of what are clearly Sonic 2 Mcdonalds toys. Today, even better images of these toys have been leaked, this time including Sonic. This marks first time Sonic has had a Happy Meal toy since those McDonalds LCD games nearly a decade ago.
The images are low-res and their exact function is unclear, though it seems likely that they have some method of being propelled forward. With the movie a little more than a month away, we’ll likely be getting an official unveiling of these toys soon. In addition to these four, there are two others that have yet to be shown. If you want to see them, we’ve got them embedded below!
Jakks Pacific has unveiled its upcoming line of Sonic 2 movie toys on social media. Ever wanted to own a toy of the Tornado, or Jim Carrey Robnotnik? Well now you can!
The line-up includes plushies, action figures, the aforementioned Tornado biplane, and Sonic on some sort of skateboard type thing, complete with a giant ring. All of the action figures include some sort of accessory as well. Sonic and Knuckles both have snowboards, while Dr. Robotnik has one of his egg robots and a…coffee cup. Tails, most interestingly, appears to have some sort of gun. Check out the toys below:
These toys will launch in the spring, likely around the same time as the movie’s release on April 8. What are your thoughts on these toys? Tell us in the comments below!
Credit to Josiahblaze for sending this into our Discord newstips!
via Twitter
With the first wave of Steam Deck units shipping less than a week from now, it’s a good time to look at what Valve has given the confident thumbs up, the shaky sideways thumb, and the sad thumbs down. Steam has introduced a new page to check your library’s compatibility, so if you’ve got one on order (or plan on getting one), go check it out.
Continue reading Which Sonic Games Are Compatible with the Steam Deck (So Far) [UPDATED Feb. 23]UPDATE: The poll is closed, and the results are in:
The poll received a total of 1047 votes, the most one of these polls have gotten in years. Of those, 800 were yes, which is also the highest amount any character has gotten in years. That means yes won with 76.4% of the vote, placing her in the top 12 of all time, just ahead of Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy.
So what happens next? Who knows. As we said in the original article, there is no guarantee a Sally statue will get made, even with really good numbers. Chief among them, even if F4F decides it wants to make a statue, SEGA itself still needs to say yes.
Looking at previous polling winners, like NiGHTS into Dreams’ Reala, it will likely be years before a statue is available, if one even gets made.
Original story below:
More than five years since she last appeared in the Sonic comics, Princess Sally Acorn may finally have a shot at a new piece of merchandise via high-end collectibles maker First4Figures. F4F is currently running a poll asking its community whether or not they would pre-order a Sally Acorn statue. This is a weekly poll called “Thursday Temptations,” wherein F4F tests community interest in various characters. While the results of a poll do not guarantee the creation of a statue, F4F will at least explore doing something with the character if the numbers are strong enough.
As of this writing, the yeses are winning with 73% of the vote, 578 to 217. While those may seem like small numbers, that’s actually the most votes any character has gotten in this poll in years. The poll is set to run through Wednesday, though participants will need to join F4F’s Facebook community in order to vote.
There’s more to this than simply convincing F4F to make a Sally statue. According to Ian Flynn, who has long been boosting efforts to bring the character (and the other Freedom Fighters) back into the Sonic franchise, getting a statue would also simply be “big” for the character.
If you would pre-order a Sally Acorn statue, you can vote for the character here. We’ll update this post with the final results on Thursday.
The new Sonic 2 movie poster lacks a few notable names, including Tails voice actor Colleen O’Shaughnessey. This is especially strange, given how prominent the character has been featured in the movie’s marketing. Tails isn’t exactly a minor character. Also missing are Tika Sumpter (Maddie Wachowski) and Lee Majdoub (Agent Stone), despite the former also being on the poster.
So did Paramount simply forget to add their names? No. Who gets credit on movie posters and how they’re credited is actually rather complicated and involves a lot of negotiations with agents, fees, and what individual actors want. While this is pure speculation, it likely came down to how negotiations went. For anyone curious about the nature of poster billing credits, you can find a helpful article on the subject here.
Something similar occurred with Marvel’s Avengers Endgame, when actress Danai Gurira wasn’t credited on that movie’s poster despite being on it. Fan outcry eventually led to her name being added.
Thankfully, Sonic fans aren’t exactly being silent over this. On Twitter, many are voicing their displeasure over O’Shaughnessey’s omission:
It’s not often I’ll just outright state an opinion in a news article, especially on behalf of this website, but I’m going to go ahead and do there here: yes, Colleen O’Shaughnessey absolutely deserves to be on this poster, and Paramounts needs to make that change now.
![Movie Sonic, Tails & Knuckles Come to Build-a-Bear [UPDATED Mar. 30]](https://archive.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Sonic-2-Movie-Build-a-Bear-895x375.jpg)
![Which Sonic Games Are Compatible with the Steam Deck (So Far) [UPDATED Feb. 23]](https://archive.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Steam-Deck-895x375.jpg)
