It's the videogame movie nobody asked for, but last year, SEGA CEO Hajime Satomi confirmed to The Wordfolio that the company's biggest (and fastest) mascot was coming to the big screen. Partnering with Sony Pictures, SEGA announced that a live-action/animated hybrid was in the works - which is sure to bring the blue hedgehog with a penchant for gold rings back to the top of pop culture.
Considering Sonic has always failed to pip Super Mario to the post in terms of popularity and sales, this could be a chance for the blue hedgehog to get one over on the plumber, considering the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie was one of the biggest blockbuster flops in history.
Now, the only official teaser we've had for the movie is a poster showing the silhouette of the blue hedgehog, and clearly, Sonic doesn't skip leg day:
But thankfully, it seems fans have been treated to a glimpse of what the movie's antagonist is going to look like thanks to a premature leak.
Back in June 2018, Deadline reported that Jim Carrey would be starring as Sonic's nemesis, Dr. Robotnik (AKA Dr. Eggman), and thanks to a "leak" by SEGA Twitter fan page @SEGAbits, we can now see what Carrey's version of the evil genius will apparently look like on the big screen:
The account "confirmed" this was a genuine image by stating how picture matches an Instagram photo Carrey had shared, claiming the actor was showing off his Dr. Robotnik hairstyle:
However, to add further authenticity to this leak, Scott Wampler, the editor of Birth.Movies.Death, later confirmed that he had already seen two trailers at CinemaCon, with one of the trailers allegedly focusing 'entirely' on Carrey as Robotnik.
Wampler stated: "[Carrey is] playing the character in what I would describe as “late 90’s Jim Carrey mode".
Wow, this movie really sounds like every 90s kid's ultimate fantasy come true. And if Wampler's claims are correct, I personally cannot wait to see Carrey revert back to his Ace Ventura/The Cable Guy ways.
Needless to say, fans and critics alike flooded to Twitter to share their reactions to the image:
Sonic first appeared in 1991 in the videogame Sonic the Hedgehog for the SEGA Megadrive/Genesis, and helped SEGA become one of the leaders in the home console market during the 16-bit era. But sadly, SEGA was unable to maintain this position after Nintendo's launch of the SNES, and with the launch of the first Sony PlayStation in the mid-90s, SEGA just couldn't keep up.
In 2001, SEGA announced that they would no longer be manufacturing consoles to solely become a third-party developer.