Knuckles the Echidna is getting the spotlight all to himself. Paramount announced production has recently started on the live-action TV spinoff for the titular character from Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
In 2022, shortly before the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Paramount revealed a spinoff for Knuckles was in the works. The show is intended to be set between that movie and 2024’s Sonic 3, with Jeff Fowler (director of the first two films) on hand to direct the pilot and executive produce.
While Sonic is no stranger to the world of TV thanks to older cartoons like Sonic Underground and Sonic X, the Knuckles show marks the first live-action show for the franchise. Paramount setting Sega’s series up as an arm of both its film and TV divisions means new players will eventually be turned onto the games themselves, particularly younger ones.
Like in the film, Knuckles will be voiced by Idris Elba. Additional cast members include Tika Sumpter and Adam Pally from both Sonic movies, reprising their respective roles as Maddie and Wade Whipple. Additional cast members include Kid Cudi, Julian Barratt, Ellie Taylor, and Rory McCann.
At time of writing, the show is expected to release on Paramount+ some time in 2023.
The Sonic brand keeps on speeding along
To date, both Sonic movies have made a combined $405 million at the box office. Though the franchise has always been popular over the decades, the financial success of both films seems to have given Sega something of a creative refresh.
Last year’s Sonic Frontiers marked the first mainline installment since Sonic Forces back in 2017, and has sold 3 million copies in a handful of months. That same year, Sega also released the Sonic Prime anime for Netflix.
As far as 2023 is concerned, Sega put out The Murder of Sonic of the Hedgehog, a visual novel spinoff where players have to investigate…well, it’s right there in the title. The game released for free on April Fools, and within days had amassed 1 million downloads on Steam.
And while a whole new game doesn’t appear to be on the docket at time of writing, Frontiers is said to be getting DLC throughout 2023. That should eventually tide players over until the release of either the Knuckles show or Sonic 3 coming to theaters the following year.