Good news, Sega fans. Ben Schwartz has been named for the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in the Sonic movie coming next November by the Oscar-winning director Jeff Fowler. He is best known for his role as Jean-Ralphio on Parks and Recreation as well as the voice of Dewey Duck in modern version of Duck Tales. Schwartz joins the cast with James Marsden and Jim Carrey, who will play Dr. Eggman.
Set in the fictional town Green Hills, the most that we have from the premise of the movie is that Sonic, on the run from the government, teams up with a local police officer Tom (Marsden) in order to evade them. Filming for the movie began just days ago, with titbits of information circulating on Twitter among frothing fans already posting memes and fanart.
Some have questioned the choice to make Schwartz the voice of the titular protagonist of the Sonic movie as some wanted Roger Craig Smith to reprise is role as the blue hedgehog. Despite some disappointment, the trending tags are brimming with excitement. It seems as though the fandom may have been waiting for this one for quite some time.
Howeer, there are some valid criticisms floating around the movie. The film intends to be shot as a mix of live action and CGI. While the combination can yield beautiful characters — such as Smeagol/Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films — there are many goofy examples that bring shame to the practice. No one will soon forget the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns.
Putting Josh Miller and Patrick Casey on the screenplay is also a little worrying when you check out their release history elsewhere. Hey! Stop Stabbing Me! isn’t exactly a widely appraised cinematic masterpiece and that cringeworthy lineage could bleed into Sonic.
Either way, the team has over a year to give Sonic fans the movie he deserves. It has some talented people on board but we will see if those folks can come together to make something special when the film releases on November 15, 2019.
