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- For other uses of the term "Sonic" see Sonic the Hedgehog (disambiguation).
Sonic[2] is an upcoming adaptation based on the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. It is being co-produced and financed by Paramount Pictures. The film, expected to be a CGI/live action hybrid film with the help of Sega's Marza Animation Planet unit, is being produced by Neal Moritz through his Original Film banner, with Tim Miller as executive producer. The screenplay will be written by Patrick Casey and Josh Miller.[3][4] It is the first entry to a planned film series.[5] and is currently set for a release on 15 November 2019.[1]
Initially, Sony Pictures acquired the film rights to Sonic the Hedgehog from Sega in 2013, and officially gave the green-light at a private joint Sega/Sony Pictures press conference announcing the film on 10 June 2014.[3] In October 2017, due to financing issues, Sony sold the film rights to Paramount, who retained the film's production staff.[6]
Plot
The movie’s plot will be about a small town coming together to help the sheriff save Sonic – a blue anthropomorphic delinquent hedgehog that can reach the speed of sound – from the government chasing after him.[7]
Cast
Development
Earlier concepts
Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World
Sega first came up with the idea of a feature-length Sonic the Hedgehog film during production of the cartoon in 1993. Newly-appointed consumer products director Michealene Risley, who was instrumental in green-lighting the series, was assigned to negotiate with several Hollywood producers to find support for the project. “I was basically driving the Sonic movie," Risley recalled to Kotaku in 2018. "I don’t know who came up with the idea – whether it was Tom [Kalinske, Sega of America CEO] or Shinobu [Toyoda, Sega executive vice-president and COO] or me, or we talked about it as a group – but having come from the movie world, I was always pushing those things."[11] Tom Kalinske, however, was hesitant on the idea of a movie, recalling how 1987's Masters of the Universe damaged the namesake toy-line and how the critical and commercial failures of Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter stained the reputation of their namesake video game franchises. Kalinske noted to Kotaku that "There is really is that fear that a bad movie could potentially hurt your brand. The Sonic brand was strong enough to probably withstand it, but there is that fear."[11] Despite Kalinske's concerns, Risley noted, Sega was highly enthusiastic about the project. "It all depends on the timing of the movie, the look of the movie, whether you go live action or animation. [The film failing] was never an issue for us."[11] After about a year of negotiations, Sega struck a development deal in August 1994 with MGM and Trilogy Entertainment Group, led by producer Pen Densham, with Densham serving as executive producer of the planned movie.[11]
After securing the deal, Sega and MGM tapped Richard Jefferies to help come up with a screenplay for the film. Jefferies had previously written the cult classic The Vagrant for MGM in 1992, and had worked with Risley during her time at Marvel Comics to help write a proposed film adaptation of the Silver Surfer character. According to Jefferies, Sega wanted the ill-fated Sonic X-treme game, which was in development for the then-unreleased Sega Saturn, to tie-in with the movie, adding that Sega was "trying to co-ordinate the two and make the two compatible."[11]
Jefferies' treatment, titled Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World, was submitted to Sega in May 1995.[11] The treatment seems to work on the idea that Josh, a 12-year old son of a divorced couple who brings Sonic to the real world by hooking up his Sega Saturn to a super-intelligent computer programmed by his father, the XRI (eXtremely Radical Intelligence [sic]), and has to team up with him when Doctor Eggman and his minions inadvertently escape the computer and seek to take over the real world.[11] According to Jeffries, the draft received a positive reception among Sega and MGM executives, but Shinobu Toyoda sent a letter to Kalinske suggesting that Doctor Eggman be removed from the script, favoring a "strong/mean villain" to give the series a fresh idea.[11]
Before the project could be green-lit, MGM suddenly backed out of the development deal, and after an attempt to revive the film at DreamWorks went nowhere, the film was scrapped.[11] Pen Densham claimed the deal broke down due to creative differences between Sega and Trilogy, causing the latter to pull out and leave MGM with the bill.[11] Jeffries, however, blamed "Hollywood politics" for the film's demise, believing that the studios each wanted a higher share of the film's profits.[11] He also suggested that the character had troubled adapting to the decline of the 16-bit console market. "The focus groups weren’t responding to the evolution of the character," Jeffries remarked, "and the heyday of the character was behind them. Maybe they were hoping a movie could help reinvigorate that. But maybe it was a response to where Sonic was headed, and maybe MGM came to that conclusion themselves. I don’t know."[11] Jeffries speculated that the film's budget would've reached around $150 million, making it MGM's most expensive film to date, and suggested that the financial concerns were another reason for MGM abandoning the film.[11]
Pre-production
On 3 December 2013, Sony Pictures Digital Domain Names, Inc., a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, filed a notice of registration for three inactive websites adressed as "SonicTheHedgehog-Movie.com", "SonicTheHedgehog-Movie.net" and "SonicTheHedgehogMovie.net". The registrations were reported by The Sonic Stadium on 7 December, but neither Sony Pictures nor Sega confirmed the existence of a proposed film project at the time.[12]
On 20 March 2014, a film adaptation was first hinted when The Tracking Board released a rumor about the film, stating that it would receive a "Dark Knight treatment" and posted a writer shortlist of proposed writers involved.[13] On 10 June 2014, the official Sonic website was updated, with a locked section listing "TV and Movies."[14] Later that same day, at a private Sega/Sony Pictures press conference, The Hollywood Reporter reported the confirmation of the film, and that Sony had green-lit the project.[3]
It was revealed on 21 June 2014 that Sonic the Hedgehog and its eventual successor films will be a separate continuity from the Sonic Boom continuity.[15] On 19 November 2014, Van Robichaux stated that the film production team is "aiming for [a] PG-13 [rating]".[16]
On 31 October 2016, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Tim Miller, who had left directing Deadpool 2 due to creative differences, had been hired as executive producer for the film and that Jeff Fowler will assume directorial duties. Patrick Casey and Josh Miller are also confirmed to write the script.[4]
It was announced on 2 October 2017 that Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures had acquired the film rights to Sonic the Hedgehog from Sony, replacing the latter as distributor. Sony had temporally shut down production before the switch after placing it into turnaround.[6] The announcement came after co-producer Neal Moritz's Original Film banner signed a first-look production deal with Paramount the prior month, ending their previous deal with Sony, and several months after Sony's film financing partner LStar Capital ended its deal with Sony due to a string of box office failures from the studio.[17][18] Despite the change of studios, the production staff working on the film remained employed and moved to Paramount as well.[6] This is not the first time Paramount and Sega have crossed paths - from 1969 to 1983, both were subsidiaries of Gulf and Western Industries.
On 22 February 2018, an official press release was put out confirming the film's move to Paramount and a release date of 15 November 2019, a date that was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter two days prior.[19][1] Sega will have creative input into the project and will co-finance it with Paramount, who will release the film worldwide.[19]
Independent outlet Omega Underground reported on 4 March 2018 that the film's producers were circling Junkie XL to compose the film's musical score, reuniting him with Miller once again after doing the score for Deadpool. The site also reported that Paramount was aiming to begin filming at some point in July, backing up story co-writer Van Robichaux's speculation he tweeted a month prior.[20][21]
On 1 April 2018, it was announced that filming was going to start on 30 July in Vancouver, instead of Atlanta as previously reported.[22]
On 29 May 2018, it was reported that Paul Rudd is in talks for a lead role as Tom, "a cop who befriends Sonic and will likely team up to defeat Dr. Eggman". Paramount later clarified that this was not the case, but that Rudd had been considered for the role at one point. The same day it was revealed that the film will have a budget of $90 million.[23] The following day, it was announced that James Marsden has been cast in an undisclosed role.[24]
On 7 June 2018, it was announced that Tika Sumpter was cast to star opposite James Marsden in an undisclosed role.[10] On 12 June 2018, it was later stated that shots of the film would be filmed at Vancouver's Highway 19 during mid-September 2018, and that the movie's current title is "SONIC".[2] Soon after, screenwriter Patrick Casey revealed that for the film, Sonic would have a design that was still him and yet a "little more realistic".[16] At Too Many Games in 2018, Johnny Gioeli stated that “Sega Has Nothing To Do With The Sonic Movie”.[25] Takashi Iizuka soon after corrected though that he would be supervising the film.[26]
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Couch, Aaron (20 February 2018). 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Movie Sets 2019 Release Date. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Scenes for Sonic the Hedgehog movie set to be filmed on Highway 19 next fall. Vancouver Island Free Daily (12 June 2018). Retrieved on 23 June 2018.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Siegel, Tatiana (10 June 2014). 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Movie in the Works at Sony. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Zack (31 October 2016). Sonic movie reported to be a "hybrid CG-animated/live-action family film". The Worldfolio. Retrieved on 31 October 2016.
- ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (10 June 2014). Sony, SEGA Team For ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ Pic. Deadline.com. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Kit, Borys (2 October 2017). 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Movie Races to Paramount (Exclusive). The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ Gregory, Mike (14 June 2018). Paramount budgets $7M for Sonic the Hedgehog movie shoot in ‘hero town’ Ladysmith. Vancouver Island Free Daily. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ Fleming Jr., Mike (29 June 2018). Jim Carrey to play 'Sonic The Hedgehog' Villain Robotnik. Variety. Retrieved on 29 June 2018.
- ↑ Kroll, Justin (30 May 2018). James Marsden to Star in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Movie (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. Retrieved on 6 June 2018.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Kroll, Justin (7 June 2018). Tika Sumpter Lands Female Lead in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Movie (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 Brown, Luke (6 July 2018). The Sonic the Hedgehog Movie That Never Got Made. Kotaku UK. Retrieved on 6 July 2018.
- ↑ Luty, Dave (7 December 2013). Sony Pictures Have Registered 3 Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Domains. Sonic Stadium. Retrieved on 23 June 2018.
- ↑ Barnes, Madison (20 March 2014). {TB EXCLUSIVE} “Sonic The Hedgehog” Gets The “Dark Knight” Treatment And A Writer Shortlist. The Tracking Board. Retrieved on 23 June 2018.
- ↑ Luty, Dave (10 June 2014). UPDATE: Official Sonic Website Hints at a Sonic Movie. Sonic Stadium. Retrieved on 23 June 2018.
- ↑ Luty, Dave (21 June 2014). Sonic Movie Not Based on Boom. Sonic Stadium. Retrieved on 23 June 2018.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 SSF1991
(19 November 2014). Sonic Live Action Film Being Aimed For PG-13. TSSZ News. Retrieved on 24 June 2018. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "PG13" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (6 September 2017). Cornerstone Sony Producer Neal Moritz Moves First-Look Film Deal To Paramount. Deadline.com.
- ↑ Faughnder, Ryan (17 July 2017). Sony Pictures and co-financing partner LStar Capital cut ties. Lost Angeles Times. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 SEGA of America and Paramount Pictures Finalize Agreement to Co-produce Sonic the Hedgehog Feature Film. Business Wire (22 February 2018). Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ Marc, Christopher (4 March 2018). ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ CGI/Live-Action Hybrid Movie Sprinting Towards A July Start In Atlanta. Omega Underground. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ Van Robichaux on Twitter. Twitter (3 February 2018). Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ Marc, Christopher (1 April 2018). UPDATE: ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ Moves Filming To Vancouver – Lands Start Date. Omega Underground. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ Raymond, Nicholas (29 May 2018). Paul Rudd Eyed For Lead Role In Sonic the Hedgehog Film [Updated]. Screenrant. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ Plunkett, Luke (31 May 2018). James Marsden Will Star In The Sonic The Hedgehog Movie. Kotaku. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ SSF1991 (22 June 2018). [www.tssznews.com/2018/06/22/johnny-gioeli-sega-has-nothing-to-do-with-the-sonic-movie/ Johnny Gioeli: “SEGA Has Nothing To Do With The Sonic Movie”]. TSSZ News. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.
- ↑ SSF1991 (22 June 2018). Takashi Iizuka Says He Is Supervising The Sonic Movie. TSSZ News. Retrieved on 24 June 2018.