Sonic the Hedgehog trivia: 56 facts about the new film

Sonic the Hedgehog is a new live-action film based on the video games with the same name. It will premiere on February 14.

So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the new film!

1. Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2020 live-action/computer-animated adventure comedy film
2. It is based on the video game franchise published by Sega
3. The film is directed by Jeff Fowler
4. It is his feature directorial debut
5. From a screenplay by Pat Casey and Josh Miller
6. It also stars James Marsden, Jim Carrey, and Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog
7. In the film, Sonic teams up with a small-town sheriff named Tom as he attempts to escape Dr. Robotnik and the government
8. In 2013, Sony Pictures acquired the film rights to the franchise
9. By 2014, had a movie adaptation in development
10. Fowler was hired to direct in 2016
11. After Sony put the project in turnaround, Paramount Pictures acquired it in 2017
12. The majority of the cast had signed on by August 2018
13. Filming took place between July and October 2018 in Ladysmith and Parksville
14. Both on Vancouver Island, and in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
15. Sonic the Hedgehog was initially scheduled to be released in the United States on November 8, 2019
16. After an overwhelmingly negative reaction to the first trailer, Paramount delayed the film in order to redesign Sonic
17. The redesign was shown in a new trailer which was well-received for its tone and humor
18. With Sonic’s appearance receiving particular praise
19. The film premiered at the Paramount Theatre on January 25, 2020
20. It is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on February 14
21. Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired the rights to produce and distribute a film based on Sonic the Hedgehog in 2013
22. On June 10, 2014, a live-action animated film was announced as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Marza Animation Planet
23. It would be produced by Neal H. Moritz by his Original Film banner alongside Takeshi Ito, Mie Onishi, and Toru Nakahara
24. And written by Evan Susser and Van Robichaux
25. In February 2016, Sega CEO Hajime Satomi said the film was scheduled for 2018
26. Blur Studio’s Tim Miller and Jeff Fowler were hired in 2016 to develop it
27. Fowler would make his feature directorial debut, and Miller and Fowler would executive produce
28. Patrick Casey, Josh Miller, and Oren Uziel were writing the screenplay, while Casey and Miller wrote the story
29. On October 2, 2017, Paramount Pictures announced that they had acquired the rights after Sony’s Columbia Pictures put the film into turnaround
30. Most of the production team remained unchanged
31. In February 2018, it was announced that the movie would be released in November 2019
32. On May 29, 2018, it was reported that Paul Rudd was in talks for a lead role as Tom, “a cop who befriends Sonic and will likely team up to defeat Dr. Robotnik”, but was later denied
33. A day later, it was announced that James Marsden was cast in an undisclosed role, but later revealed to be Tom Wachowski
34. In June 2018, Tika Sumpter was cast
35. Jim Carrey was cast to play the villain, Dr. Eggman, here renamed to his original Western name of Dr. Robotnik
36. In August 2018, Ben Schwartz joined as the voice of Sonic
37. A few days later, Adam Pally and Neal McDonough were cast
38. Debs Howard and Elfina Luk joined the cast the following November
39. Yuji Naka, former head of Sonic Team and lead programmer of the original Sonic the Hedgehog video game, was initially supposed to appear as an extra, but was forgotten during production
40. The visual effects are provided by Moving Picture Company (MPC), Marza Animation Planet, Blur Studio, Trixter and Digital Domain
41. The production team created a realistic version of Sonic using computer animation, adding fur, new running sneakers (which turn out to be the Puma Speed 500s in Red), two separate eyes, and a more humanlike physique
42. They used Ted, the living teddy bear from the Ted films, as a reference to insert a CG character into a real-world setting
43. Executive producer Tim Miller said: “It would be weird and it would feel like he was running around nude if he was some sort of otter-like thing. It was always, for us, fur, and we never considered anything different. It’s part of what integrates him into the real world and makes him a real creature”
44. According to Miller, Sega was not “entirely happy” with the design of Sonic’s eyes
45. On May 2, 2019, in response to criticism of the design, Fowler announced on Twitter that Sonic would be redesigned
46. The November release date was delayed to February 14, 2020 as a result
47. Artist Tyson Hesse, who worked on previous Sonic the Hedgehog media, was brought on to lead the redesign
48. For the redesign, Sonic was given larger and differently colored eyes, new running sneakers (based on Women’s Dare Mesh Sneakers made from Puma, which also resemble the original Sonic sneakers from the games), white gloves, and a less humanlike body in order to resemble the character’s design in the video games
49. It is estimated that the delay of the film and the redesign of Sonic put the film $5 million or less over its original budget of $90 million for a total of $95 million
50. In February 2019, Tom Holkenborg, who previously worked with executive producer Tim Miller on Deadpool, signed on to compose the score
51. It will be released alongside the movie on February 14, 2020 in both digital and physical formats
52. Riff Raff, who has a role in the film, will also appear on the soundtrack
53. An original song titled “Speed Me Up” by Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Yachty, and Sueco the Child will appear in the film’s soundtrack
54. The single was publicly released on January 24 on Atlantic Records
55. In the United States and Canada, Sonic the Hedgehog will be released alongside Fantasy Island and The Photograph
56. It is projected to gross $41 to 47 million in its opening weekend