Sonic the Hedgehog 2 lands in theaters in under a month and looks set to capture the offbeat and goofy magic that made the first movie such a hit. The sequel will see the blue blur joined by his best buddy Tails and new antagonist Knuckles the Echidna. Anyone at all familiar with the games will know that Sonic and Knuckles won’t be enemies for long, but it seems that this movie will see some seriously fun throwdowns between the pair.
The trailer also shows Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik examining one of the Chaos Emeralds, which he describes as “the source of ultimate power.” Their presence together with Knuckles may hint at a storyline that very loosely adapts the 1990s Genesis games Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, which saw Robotnik manipulate the emeralds’ guardian Knuckles into thinking that Sonic is the one trying to exploit them.
That storyline may also mean that we get the long-awaited arrival of Sonic’s Chaos Emerald-powered form “Super Sonic.” This lightning-yellow and invincible transformation of Sonic ups his speed and makes him almost invincible.
Director Jeff Fowler has said that they’re aware of how important Super Sonic is to the story, but that it didn’t make sense to include it in the first film’s storyline. My bet is that when the chips are down in the finale, we’ll see Sonic get a considerable power-up and proceed to kick some badnik ass.
Beyond that, fans will be tickled by nods to the games, including a snowboard section in which Sonic outruns an avalanche and a sky-based battle aboard Tails’ iconic biplane the Tornado. Plus there’s at least one glimpse of a truly gigantic Robotnik robot.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 spindashes into cinemas on April 8.