The cat – or, rather, hedgehog – is officially out of the bag.
Truth to their word, SEGA and Paramount Pictures ordered the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie back to the drawing board after its debut trailer was met with blistering criticism. Put simply, the titular speedster looked like a cheap knock-off one might find in the bargain bin at your local department store, what with his odd eyes and strangely human-esque teeth. And so, the Powers That Be took things back to square one, leaving the film’s VFX team to create a new design that would harken back to the SEGA classics of old.
Day by day, we’re beginning to see more of Sonic’s new appearance, culminating in what is undoubtedly our best look yet at SEGA and Paramount’s new-look speedster. This particular leak comes to us by way of Tails’ Channel, and appears to be lifted from an AMC theater site.
See for yourself:
Right off the bat, we can see that Sonic’s eyes and overall facial features have been altered to mirror the character made famous by SEGA’s video game franchise. It’s a welcome change from the VFX team, though the redesign hasn’t pleased everyone: Jim Carrey even went so far as to say that he doesn’t support the decision to send Sonic the Hedgehog back to the drawing board, believing that Paramount’s decision ultimately erodes any sense of artistic license. But then the actor playing Dr. Robotnik would say that, wouldn’t he? In all seriousness, Carrey has a point.
“If you were me, you’d be in your seat by now.” The new-look Sonic the Hedgehog speeds into theaters worldwide on February 14th, 2020.