The overwhelmingly negative backlash to the terrifying original design of the title character in Sonic the Hedgehog sent Paramount scurrying back to the drawing board almost as quickly as the furry blue hero himself, in what marked one of the rare occasions where a studio actually listened to fan criticism and improved the final product as a result.
Thanks in part to a much better redesign, the movie became one of the only success stories at the box office this year before the entire industry was brought to a standstill due to the Coronavirus pandemic, earning over $300 million to become the second highest-grossing film of 2020 so far and the sixth most successful video game adaptation ever made.
It also helped that reviews were generally positive as Sonic quickly built a reputation as one of the better video game movies that we’ve seen in recent years, so much so that Adam Sandler felt the need to call star Jim Carrey from the theater to let him know how much he was enjoying it. Director Jeff Fowler deliberately ended the film on more than one sequel-baiting note, and it was confirmed yesterday that a second installment is officially in the works.
Almost as soon as the news hit the internet, fans hit social media in their droves to voice their approval for the Sonic the Hedgehog sequel, and you can check out some of the reactions below.
THE SONIC MOVIE'S GETTING A SEQUEL!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—-
— Jacob Current (@JacobCurrent1) May 28, 2020
Now to hope that there will Knuckles in the sequel and the movie will be mostly on Sonic's world
— Space (@SpaceTheGamer) May 28, 2020
Original #Sonic should be the villain of Sonic 2 pic.twitter.com/0qIQwA1zIg
— Charlie Schneider (@AwesomEmergency) May 28, 2020
I AM SO READY, TAKE YOUR TIME GUYS!!
i hope they get to use some of the actual music from the games and bring us Super Sonic, PLEASE!! https://t.co/liWlHdK0no
— Mike/thatgamerguy05 (@thatgamerguy05_) May 28, 2020
Happy at the news of a Sonic sequel. First one was absolutely a pleasant surprise, hopefully the sequel can build upon what made it enjoyable.
— Will (@OMG_Its_Willsy) May 28, 2020
Sonic fans, let me hear you say "HYPE!" pic.twitter.com/YmztRVvtfI
— PLEASE, I DON'T ACCEPT FOLLOWERS! (@DisneySonic1991) May 28, 2020
I'm glad Sonic 2 movie is officially in the works but will the same VFX crew be there? That's more important.
— Saralina ?️? (@TheGamerKitty1) May 28, 2020
The fact that seeing the Sonic Movie getting a sequel as legit good news really shows how far the reputation has come since the first trailer. I look forward to it
— DarkraySA (@DarkraySA_) May 28, 2020
There’s no doubt that Sonic the Hedgehog‘s box office total would have ended up even higher had theaters around the world not been forced to close, with the decision to release the movie early on digital only resulting in impressive sales figures. James Marsden has already admitted that he’s signed up for sequels, and following the credit stingers that teased Tails and a more video game-accurate Dr. Robotnik, we’ve already got a pretty good idea of the direction that the follow-up will be heading in.
