Since they first appeared in Hollywood around a century ago, animated films have certainly come a long way. Benefitting immensely from the multitude of advancements in technology since then, the film genre has expanded tremendously to include a vast array of works that can be enjoyed by moviegoers of all ages and well beyond their release. For the latter reason especially many of the animated films and franchises of the past century are still popular today, essentially defining the genre given the integral role they played in defining it. One of those franchises was successfully rebooted a few years ago, and now we have the new trailer for its next installment: yesterday Paramount elected to use the Super Bowl as the perfect opportunity to unveil what could be compared to a clash of the titans in the newest trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Originally a video game series released in the 1990s, most of us are already familiar with the furry blue creature who is Sonic the Hedgehog. The character lived on well beyond the 90s however, cementing its place in popular culture given the original video game series’ success. Our most recent taste of Sonic came in 2020 when Paramount Pictures elected to reboot the franchise and bring it to the silver screen with Sonic the Hedgehog, the franchise’s first live-action film. The project was relatively well-received by critics, but by moviegoers especially with the film being the sixth highest grossing film worldwide the year it was released generating nearly $320 million in box office receipt. Paramount subsequently got hard to work on a sequel and used the Super Bowl to promote that sequel and showcase the latest trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and it looks like they made a good choice. The trailer can be seen below, and Sonic certainly seems to have it out for him this time around as he goes back up against his arch-nemesis Dr. Robotnik, with the role being reprised by the incredibly talented Jim Carey, while confronting new challenges such as another hedgehog, this one red, named Knuckles who has seemingly joined the fight against the titular character. It should be interesting to say the least, and fans don’t have to wait long with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 set to release on April 8, 2022.
Many classic video game franchises have lived on well past their inception and capitalized on their initial success in expanding to television and film, with Sonic the Hedgehog being one of the best examples of that. It has managed to find considerable success in a very different time period than the one it was created during, and it has done so in a completely different way. Now its sequel is set to release at the beginning of this spring with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 officially releasing on April 8th.
