'Sonic the Hedgehog' Movie Delayed to 2020 to Redesign Character
Extreme Makeover: "Sonic the Hedgehog" Edition won't be here until 2020.
Paramount has delayed the video game adaptation, which had been slated for a November 8 release and now will open Feb. 14, 2020. This will give the titular character more time to get an extreme makeover after vociferous fan backlash over the trailer.
Director Jeff Fowler tweeted that they were "taking a little more time to make Sonic just right."
When the trailer dropped earlier this month, fans were horrified by Sonic's CGI-created look, particularly that he had teeth and lean, muscular legs. Fowler and Paramount almost immediately responded by vowing to redesign the hedgehog.
"The message is loud and clear... you aren't happy with the design & you want changes. It's going to happen," Fowler tweeted at the time.
Of course, that was going to be an enormous task — Sonic is the main character and a makeover would require a lot more visual effects work. But an adaptation of the classic Sega game has been in the works for a long time and Paramount is not going to take any chances on the movie's success — thus, the delay.
In the movie, the blue speedster (voiced by Ben Schwartz) teams up with a small-town sheriff (James Marsden) when a power surge causes a blackout in the Pacific Northwest. They face off against Dr. Robotnik, a dastardly scientist/mastermind played with a great deal of hamminess by Jim Carrey.