What Would a Sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog Even Be About?
By: Kevin Tash
Tags: Gaming, Sonic The Hedgehog, Culture, Movies, Film

The government already was a part in the first movie. So in the next movie maybe the government conspiracy elements from the Adventure games could translate into that they’re trying to track down Robotnik as a means of developing teleportation for themselves.

Perhaps they’re close to cracking it but need Robotnik back to perfect the process and make sure the teleportation is more stable. Their practicing of recreating the teleporting ring technology is creating some rifts into other worlds. That could be why Tails comes in at the end of the first movie searching for Sonic. Tails is searching for Sonic because he knew of him through legends on their home planet.

Source: Paramount Pictures

If Sonic was well known enough to be hunted down by the Echidna tribe, it stands to reason his powers are known throughout the planet. So in Tails’s mind he just knows Sonic as an all-powerful force of nature, instead of how the movies portray Sonic as a normal kid who happens to have superspeed.

That also would give Tails a good reason to look up to Sonic since there isn’t a convincing way they would previously know each other. The admiration would be the cause of their established brotherly relationship they have in most games.

So we have our set up, the government is developing teleportation technology which is causing rifts into the other planets seen in the first movie. Sonic and Tails team up to find a solution to the rifts. Perhaps travelling to other worlds to investigate or gather materials to build a plot device to stop the rifts.

Robotnik would escape through one of the rifts and be seeking out to destroy Sonic for stranding him in the first movie. Which would eventually lead up to a final fight in the third act. But there’s one more element I think the movie should use: Shadow.

Source: Game Informer.

Shadow’s introduction to the franchise back in the day was a bit divisive because he was clearly created to be marketed to kids as the games getting more edgey and dark. Including giving him a gun and other hilarious things. The early 2000s were wild for video games, y’all.

But the reason I think he should be in the movie is because Sonic having a foil that takes everything super seriously would make a for a good dynamic and a lot of comedic potential.

Particularly with this movie’s version of Sonic who is a goofball and mainly interacts with other goofballs. This new dynamic could give the movie much more opportunities for comedy. And since Shadow actually does take everything ultra seriously, that also raises the stakes from Jim Carrey’s amazing off-the-wall energy from the first movie.

As far as plot reasons for why Shadow is there, I think the characters backstory from the games involving being created by Robotnik’s grandfather and everything else should be abandoned.

Just keep it simple.

He happens to be another life form from Sonic’s planet who was gifted with the power of speed. Unlike Sonic who was forced to leave the planet, Shadow wants to leave the planet because he finds it dull and wants to use his powers for evil and is using the teleportation rifts to fulfill that desire.

I also think a conflict like this is a natural progression from the first film. Before going into the plotline the first movie sets up with the echidna tribe, since judging by the games lore, that will probably involve mysticism and the chaos emeralds. That is a bit more out there than the more science based wackiness of the first movie, so it would probably be best to save that for a third movie. Chaos would make a good villain for that story.

This would create a natural progression between the more Earth and science based conflicts in the first movie, and a more mystical and lore based conflict of a potential third film.

So yeah, there’s my pitch for how the Sonic movie franchise should move forward. I was happy to see a sequel get greenlit. I like video games, and seeing them being turned movies is always fun, and seeing people enjoy the movies is even better.