Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Delayed To Fix Sonic's Look

Published: May 24, 2019 1:25 PM /

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Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Delayed To February 14, 2020

The Sonic the Hedgehog movie was first announced back in 2016, and last year they announced it would come to theaters in 2019. Following the release of the first trailer for the movie, there was quite a bit of joking around and complaining about the movie's visual effects, with the unsettling look of Sonic being particularly derided. Earlier this month the movie's director, Jeff Fowler, vowed he would fix the character's design to appease fans. Today he has just announced on Twitter that the movie's release will be delayed to February 14, 2020.

https://twitter.com/fowltown/status/1131937685700980736

According to Wikipedia, there are three animation studios attached to the movie, Blur Studio, Marza Animation Planet, and Paramount Animation. There was some concern that overhauling the character's design in time for the originally planned November 2019 release would mean overly crunching the visual effects artists. Fowler's use of hashtag #novfxartistswereharmedinthemakingofthismovie signals that they intend to pace themselves in order to achieve a better redesign while not overworking the animation studios' staff.

One fan took it upon himself to redesign a still frame of the movie, showing more or less what fans expect from a new character design. Larger eyes, bigger head, ears, and paws. The legs seem to be particularly problematic, as the original design gives the impression of a person dressed in a plush suit, rather than the slim, stick-like legs fans seem to prefer.

https://twitter.com/EdwardPun1/status/1123261756048953344

The director didn't share any further information, so it's not clear whether we'll see more of Sonic the Hedgehog before the final release in February next year. It is worth noting that this is probably the first case of a video game movie where fans actively managed to influence some details of production and design, much like fans get to influence a game's beta version on Early Access. It could signal a new era for video game movies that might make them more appealing to fans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvvZaBf9QQI

What do you think of Sonic's character design? Are you hoping for a version that's more similar to the original game character, or something else? Let us know in the comments below!

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Richard Costa
| Staff Writer

Hack for hire, indentured egghead, maverick thoughtcriminal. Mainly interested in Western RPGs, first-person immersion, turn-based tactics, point-and-… More about Richard