Dwayne Johnson For Sonic The Hedgehog 2?
As more information continues to come from the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 camp, big names continue to be linked as possibilities for the sequel.
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As more information continues to come from the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 camp, big names continue to be linked as possibilities for the sequel. As we previously reported, Samuel L. Jackson is currently being courted in a possible live-action role with Chris Rock’s name being tossed around. Now, rumors have begun again with “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson possibly coming on board the sequel.
Actually, the rumors of Dwayne Johnson being part of the Sonic sequel started way back in February, after the movie was released to audiences thoroughly enjoying the fun family film. While the audience’s positive reaction was somewhat surprising, producers of the movie immediately took to the task of a sequel. Paramount reached out to Johnson for a possible voice role and while never getting a commitment from the mega-star, word on the street is he’s in negotiations to join Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) as Knuckles the Echidna.
For those of us who are not up on their Sonic history, Knuckles first appeared in the 1994 video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3. He then became a playable character in Sonic & Knuckles, teaming up with Sonic and Tails to battle Dr. Eggman (Robotnik). Since that time, Knuckles has been a very popular character in Sonic lore. Knuckles, according to lore, is the guardian of the Master Emerald, which is a huge gemstone that controls the seven ancient Chaos Emeralds. Not only is Knuckles the guardian of the Master Emerald, but he is also the last of his kind.
Knuckles didn’t appear in the first movie, which starred James Marsden as Tom, the sheriff who teams up with Sonic, Tika Sumpter as Tom’s wife, and in a wonderful return to his physical comedy prowess, Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, the mad scientist who stops at nothing to obtain Sonic’s super-speed powers in hopes of world domination. Dwayne Johnson and Knuckles would be a new addition for the sequel.
One new character who did appear in the movie, albeit in the mid-credit scene, was Tails, a young fox with two tails who just happens to be Sonic’s best friend. During the scene, he emerges from a ring portal looking for his pal. It appears that Tails’ emergence will set up the sequel and new adventure teaming up the friends and somehow bringing Dwayne Johnson’s Knuckles into the mix. In the video game, Knuckles’ first appearance has the gullible Echidna being tricked by Dr. Eggman into opposing Sonic and Tails.
While Knuckles didn’t appear in the first Sonic (so no need to recast the part to bring in Dwayne Johnson), his existence (or his clan’s) is alluded to at the very beginning of the movie. Screenwriter Pat Casey, who co-scripted with Josh Miller, revealed recently during the first-ever episode of Hey Fandom! that the Echidna’s seen bare some relation to Knuckles. “I can’t reveal too much but they are Echidnas, and Knuckles is an Echidna so I would guess they’re related in some way, but what exactly that relationship is… We’ll have to see how things develop. But the Echidna tribe was definitely not chosen at random.”
Though Dwayne Johnson won’t physically appear in the film, Jim Carrey will continue to appear in the flesh. For Sonic 2, Carrey has designs on wearing a fat suit to better represent Robotnik as he gains girth in the mushroom world. “Jim Carrey said ‘For the second one, I should have a giant fat suit.’ So he wants to do it but I think the producers are nervous about how long it would take to get him in and out of the fat suit every day. So we’ll see. Jim proposed that maybe he has an allergic reaction to the mushrooms and we see him just swelling up. We’ll see. Maybe we’ll do it.”
As fun as the first movie was, anticipation for the second is beginning to grow. With Carrey’s return, that’s a given, but if Paramount is able to bring in Dwayne Johnson as Knuckles and somehow convince Samuel L. Jackson to be part of the human cast, this sequel could be on par with the likes of a Godfather II. Okay, we are just joking there, but it sure sounds like a fun time could be happening if all works out.
