Fans were ecstatic at the look of Idris Elba’s Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog 2‘s trailer that premiered last month and now we’re getting word from Ben Schwartz, who plays the titular blue blur in the film, that the actor has totally nailed the role.
Schwartz said both Elba and Colleen O’Shaughnessey’s Tails are “awesome” in the movie.
“[W]e’ve got Colleen O’Shaughnessey, who was from the video game and played Tails, she plays Tails, Idris Elba’s Knuckles, they’re both awesome in it and they look awesome,” he said in an interview with ComicBook.
The fact that Knuckles’ design was instantaneously praised by fans upon his reveal is quite the redemption arc for returning director Jeff Fowler and the sequel’s producers as the original Sonic the Hedgehog trailer had a notoriously negative reception with fans over the videogame character’s design back in 2019. With a little tweaking of the computer-generated character and a delayed release date, the movie surprisingly ended up resonating really well with fans when it finally premiered in February of 2020.
True to the tease at the end of the first film, Jim Carrey’s Dr. Ivo Robotnik also sports a look that more closely resembles the design from the videogame in the sequel. Carrey’s performance was also praised by Schwartz, as well as the supporting actors in the upcoming film.
“Jim Carrey is incredible in it. Incredible guest stars. Natasha Rothwell, who’s a powerhouse of a comedian, Adam Pally, who worked with [The Afterparty co-star] Sam [Richardson] and who’s worked with me before, is in it and incredibly funny in it,” he said.
Further hyping the video game adaption, Schwartz said he’s already watch it many times, having done “a billion records” for it.
“It is huge. It is epic. In terms of size, compared to the first one, this is a movie, this is a film, this is a movie-film,” he said.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 comes to theaters April 8, 2022.
