(Updated 05/22/2022)
Sonic is back and he's bringing new friends! In SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2, the speedy blue hedgehog from another planet is trying to make himself feel at home on Earth. Doctor Robotnik has been defeated but the furry hero's next step isn't exactly obvious. He's struggling to find his calling when an Echidna shows up who wants to rewrite reality.
Wait, a what? Even if you saw the original SONIC you might have forgotten about the Echidnas who prompted him to flee his home planet in the first place. Now the sequel's main baddie, voiced by Idris Elba, is one of those same creatures — and there are a few more classic video game characters in play, too. Here's your guide to the characters of SONIC 2.
Sonic The Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz)
He probably needs no introduction but we'll do one anyway. The alien Sonic is basically a super-fast teenager who now lives on a planet without anyone else like himself. Doesn't sound like a good situation, but he makes the best of it. Targeted by the Echindas since he was a child, Sonic thinks he has found a safe home where his speed can be used for good.
Sonic is voiced by Ben Schwartz, a UCB comedy alum who has done a great deal of work with characters like Leonardo in "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and Dewey Duck in "Ducktales."
Miles "Tails" Prower the Fox (Colleen O'Shaughnessey)
Sonic isn't even the most unusual animal (person?) from his planet. The two-tailed flying fox called, appropriately, Tails, originally appeared at the very end of the first SONIC movie. Tails is desperately searching for Sonic for reasons that will become clear early in SONIC 2. Since the character in games and animation is a consistent sidekick character for Sonic, not to mention a great pilot, we expect to see him fulfill the same role here.
Tails is voiced by Colleen O'Shaugnessey, the actor who has voiced the character in games and animation for many years.
Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba)
Knuckles is a tough and dangerous Echidna who doesn't have Sonic's speed but — as his name suggests — can deliver a serious punch. In the games, he protects an object called the Master Emerald. We don't know much about the motivations of Knuckles in the movie, but there's a good chance we'll discover that the Emerald is also his major interest here. Since that same object has turned Knuckles into a pawn of Robotnik more than once, we may see a similar plot play out in the movie.
Knuckles is voiced by Idris Elba, which is one of the great casting choices for a movie of this type. Elba's recognizably gruff but highly emotive voice should bring Knuckles to new and different life on the big screen
Longclaw the Owl (Donna J. Fulks)
The owl who is Sonic's mentor and guardian is no longer part of this world, but the character is seen in flashbacks. So if you were hoping for a few more minutes with Longclaw following the brief appearance in the first movie, this is your chance.
Shadow the Hedgehog
As in the first SONIC movie, a new character is introduced in a mid-credits scene. The first movie revealed Tails this way, and now we see Shadow the Hedgehog. Debuting in games in 2001, Shadow is a black hedgehog who looks a bit like an evil Sonic but is more akin to an antihero. He doesn't share Sonic's fondness for humans but is otherwise an upright little hedgehog. He's been the hero of one major game and a playable character in others — so expect SONIC 3 to feature Shadow in a major way if the movie comes to pass.
Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey)
An egomaniac who is actually smart enough to back up his boasting, Robotnik is legitimately dangerous, at least when he's not undermining his own plots. He's the ultimate mad scientist. In the original movie, he was contracted by the government to investigate strange events that turned out to be related to Sonic. Robotnik was able to capture some of Sonic's power, but it didn't work out well for him. Ultimately banished to a planet of mushrooms (doesn't sound bad, to be honest), Robotnik went absolutely insane — setting him up to be loads of fun in the sequel.
SONIC 2 opens on April 8.
All images courtesy of Paramount Pictures.