Sonic the Hedgehog (film franchise)

*This article is about the Sonic film franchise that started in 2020. For anything else with a similar title, see Sonic the Hedgehog (disambiguation)*

The ***Sonic the Hedgehog* film series** (also named as the **Sonic** (**the Hedgehog**) **Cinematic Universe**, and thus the **SCU**) is a (recently) new franchise dedicated to be a filmed and rebooted adaptation of the original *Sonic the Hedgehog* franchise.

As of *Sonic the Hedgehog*, sequels were set to release as of it's great box-office, hence the production of *Sonic the Hedgehog 2* and development possible other films.

It also received comics, books, and more merchandise. Most notably the upcoming *Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Pre-quill* comics.

## Development

Development for a film adaptation of the *Sonic the Hedgehog* video games began in 1993 during production of DIC Entertainment's television show *Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog*. Michealene Risley, the newly appointed consumer products director who helped license Sonic for *Adventures*, negotiated with several Hollywood producers. Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske was wary of damaging the brand, citing the commercial and critical failures of the *Super Mario Bros.* and *Street Fighter* films. Despite Kalinske's concerns, Sega was enthusiastic. In August 1994, Sega struck a development deal with MGM and Trilogy Entertainment Group, with Pen Densham as executive producer.

MGM and Sega hired Richard Jefferies, an associate of Risley from her days at Marvel Comics, to write a film treatment. At the time, Sega was developing the video game *Sonic X-treme* (which was cancelled in late 1996) for its next console, the Sega Saturn, and asked Jefferies to feature the Saturn in the screenplay. Jefferies' treatment, *Sonic the Hedgehog: Wonders of the World*, was submitted in May 1995. While the draft received a positive response among MGM and Sega executives, Sega COO Shinobu Toyoda suggested Kalinske to replace Robotnik with a meaner villain. MGM canceled the project after a failed attempt to revive it at DreamWorks. Jeffries suggested that the film was scrapped as both Sega and MGM wanted a higher share of the profits, while Densham said it followed creative differences between Sega and Trilogy.

In 2002, Ben Hurst consulted DIC Entertainment about the possibility of making an animated *Sonic* film to serve as a continuation of the animated *Sonic the Hedgehog* television series, in which he worked as a writer. DiC soon put Hurst in contact with a Sega executive interested on the idea. Hurst was soon contacted by Ken Penders, writer of the Archie Comics' *Sonic the Hedgehog* comic book series, who had been alerted of Hurst's plans. Though Hurst told him his strategy and offered to include him in his effort, Penders claimed to Sega that Hurst was trying to co-opt the franchise, leading Sega to dismiss Hurst and his proposal. In September 2003, Penders pitched his own concept for a *Sonic* film titled *Sonic Armageddon*. In Penders' words, the movie would have been an origin story and a series' reset, resolving the plot threads which begun in the animated *Sonic* show and continued in Archie's comic series. However, the project was officially dropped in 2007 due to a massive corporate upheaval and the unexpected passing of SEGA Licensing Manager Robert Leffler, who had supported Penders.

In 2013, Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired the rights to produce and distribute a *Sonic* film. On June 10, 2014, a live-action animated film was announced as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Marza Animation Planet, a Japan-based subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings which had produced CGI cutscenes for several *Sonic* games. It would be produced by Neal H. Moritz by his Original Film banner alongside Takeshi Ito, Mie Onishi, and Toru Nakahara, and written by Evan Susser and Van Robichaux. In February 2016, Sega CEO Hajime Satomi said the film was scheduled for 2018. Blur Studio's Tim Miller and Jeff Fowler were hired in 2016 to develop it; Fowler would make his feature directorial debut, and Miller would serve as executive producer. Blur Studio previously produced cutscenes for the games *Shadow the Hedgehog* (2005), for which Fowler directed cutscenes, and *Sonic the Hedgehog* (2006). Patrick Casey, Josh Miller, and Oren Uziel were writing the screenplay, while Casey and Miller wrote the story.

On October 2, 2017, Paramount Pictures announced that they had acquired the rights after Sony put the film in turnaround.

## Films

### Released

*Sonic the Hedgehog*
(February 14, 2020)*Sonic the Hedgehog 2*
(April 8, 2022)
## Other media

* **Books**: *see Category:Sonic the Hedgehog (film franchise) books*
* **Comics**: *see Category:Sonic the Hedgehog (film franchise) comics*
* **Short films**: *see Category:Sonic the Hedgehog (film franchise) short films*

## Trivia

* In a *USA Today* interview, Jeff Fowler first used the title '*Sonic Cinematic Universe*'.
* Due to the first film's huge success, Paramount Pictures has announced a sequel to *Sonic the Hedgehog*, which would assumedly span into a cinematic universe.
* In turnaround, Paramount Pictures received the film rights as oppose to Sony Pictures Entertainment.

## References

1. ↑ 'Sonic the Hedgehog': Why Tails' surprise cameo is big as the 'remarkable' journey continues