Sonic the Hedgehog is primed for a third movie, but the latest news points to Aubrey Plaza being eyed as its new villain after Jim Carrey’s Dr Robotnik.
Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the positive ventures for a video game IP being adapted into a movie. The movie took its sweet time incubating for nearly three decades when it was first thought to be developed. Since 1993, executives have been considering a full-feature film of the video game, especially when it had its own animated television series already airing.
Sega, the owner of the videogame IP, was very keen on getting a movie done as early as the 1990s. They struck a deal with MGM and Trilogy Entertainment Group to develop the project. However, business concerns kept the development from moving forward as creatives and the people at Sega couldn’t seem to agree on how to go about the movie.
It wasn’t until 2013, when Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired the rights to produce and distribute a Sonic movie, that things started rolling again. Another four years passed by, and then Paramount Pictures stepped in. It was 2017 when Paramount acquired the rights and began working with Sega for the film.
Credit: Paramount Pictures
A year after was when they began casting for the first movie. It was supposed to be released by 2019, but the image of Sonic had to be redesigned after much criticism, and production had to move its release to 2020. The production’s positive response to the audience’s impression undoubtedly impacted how people treated the final result.
The movie, proving that when production listens to audience feedback, things work out for the best, ended up with a $302.5M worldwide box office performance from a $90M budget. Its budget included a reported $5M cost due to Sonic’s redesign for the movie. It was $5M well spent.
Two years later, the franchise released its sequel with the same production budget and generated even better box office numbers at $405.4M worldwide. Both movies feature Jim Carrey as the main villain Dr. Robotnik. It is no wonder that Paramount and Sega would be looking into making a third movie in the hopes that Carrey would reconsider.
However, recent talks say that the production is opening its doors to other options.
Aubrey Plaza Might Just Be the Next Villain For Sonic 3
READ MORE: Matt Berry Joins Jason Momoa In The Minecraft Movie
Giant Freakin Robot reports that there is a possibility that the production of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is looking at Aubrey Plaza to become the movie’s main villain. This is in light of Jim Carrey expressing his intention to retire from acting.
While people behind the developing threequel would still love for the Dr. Robotnik actor on board, they are reported to be considering other paths to move forward with the franchise. Of course, recasting the role is out of the question. On IGN’s Twitter account last year, they posted Sonic 2 producers speaking on behalf of the production about Carrey’s intention to retire.
If Jim Carrey DOES retire from acting, #SonicMovie2 producers Neal H. Moritz & Toby Ascher confirmed they would not recast Dr. Robotnik!#Robotnik pic.twitter.com/w32BT0sSG8
— IGN (@IGN) April 6, 2022
Neal Moritz and Toby Ascher stated they wouldn’t even try to recast the character. Ascher said:
Jim Carrey is always a member of the Sonic family and he will always have a place in these movies and TV shows as long as he’d like to be around. We love Jim and he’s so special, and what he does with Robotnik is so incredible, we would love him as long as he would like to be there with us.
To which Morits added:
I have a feeling that he loves Robotnik so much that I don’t think he’ll be able to walk away from that.
But as any business decisions and situations go, there has to be a way to move forward, even if Carrey would be really bent on embracing his peaceful days after the glitz and glamour of Hollywood as an actor.
Sonic 3 Might Just Introduce A New Villain With Aubrey Plaza In Mind
Credit: Vertical Entertainment
READ MORE: The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Creators Want A Movie Adaptation
There are other villains which Sonic 3 can feature. There is also the possibility of creating one that is unique to the movie franchise and not necessarily present in the video games or animated series in the past. Aubrey Plaza could definitely rock the dark vibes in a live-action adaptation of a video game villain.
However, there is also the possibility of a gender-bent formidable villain from the video games. Characters such as Chaos, Infinite, Metal Sonic and Mephiles could be presented using Plaza’s voice. Or the production can also stay female with Dark Gaia and Merlina.
Still, as this is unconfirmed information, it is best to consider it as just a possibility. There is still hope that Carrey could return as Robotnik for a third time.
What do you make of this possibility for Sonic 3? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
What do you make of this story? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages! And if you enjoy listening to film podcasts, why not check out our podcast, The Small Screen Podcast, wherever you get your podcasts!
There are no comments
Add yours