It goes without saying that this year's Pokémon Detective Pikachu. Now, considering its box office succes, SEGA and Paramount have proudly announced a sequel and a potential franchise as well.
Fans were ecstatic over the recent announcement and have already started making theories and speculations for what Sonic and friends could be up to next. Numerous theories have surfaced over the internet, mostly regarding the fan-favorite post-credit scene. Keeping this in mind, here are 4 things the sequel needs to have and 3 things it could easily skip.
NEEDS TO INCLUDE: Ben Schwartz as Sonic
Many were surprised to learn that The Office alumni Ben Schwartz would be providing his voice for Sonic instead of long Roger Craig Smith, who voiced Sonic in the games for the longest time. While many doubted the decision at the time, eventually his performance became a fan-favorite role, thanks to the combination of his humorous personality with his voice. This seemed perfect for Sonic, and the result was perfect as well.
Based on this performance, fans wholeheartedly agree that if anyone is going to portray the iconic blue character again, it should be Ben Schwartz. Either that or there is no point in the sequels.
SKIP: President Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
In a brief scene in Sonic, when he becomes conscious again, he asks the usual "Where Am I?" and then suddenly says "Is The Rock President?" This small scene speculated that in future movies, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would make an appearance as President of the United States, but fans have been divided over this possibility.
Following the polarizing reception towards this joke, SEGA should just skip it... at least for the second Sonic movie. They could maybe make this happen in a potential third film, which would give fans enough time to process the cliffhanger ending of the first movie, the post-credit scenes, and the joke itself. The Rock as president isn't a terrible joke and a cameo from the wrestler-turned-actor would be fun, but it's a bit too predictable even by a family movies' standards.
NEEDS TO INCLUDE: Jim Carrey As Dr.Robotnik/ Eggman
Jim Carrey's portrayal of the iconic villain won fans' hearts over. With his official name being Dr. Ivo Robotnik before getting the Eggman moniker, his humorous take on the character is one thing from the movie that should remain. This would make him the Iron Man, and it would provide the Sonic franchise with a solid rivalry.
Since SEGA saw the first movie's big success, it's highly unlikely that they would try to fix the cast's good formula by recasting a character or two, but the possibility of recasting can never be ignored. Hopefully, this is not the case with Jim Carrey.
SKIP: A Feud Between Tom & Tails
The end of the movie teased the team-up of Sonic with his iconic partner Tails. But as seen before, the introduction of a new character can create a jealousy-fueled feud between two characters. With two creatures to deal with, a feud may be created between Tails and Sonic's trusty friend, Tom Wachowski.
Fans feel that this is absolutely unnecessary and will not go down well, therefore SEGA should keep it out of their movies. Instead, the filmmakers should make relations happy between the three right off the bat instead of inciting a needless quarrel.
NEEDS TO INCLUDE: A Sonic/Tails Team-Up & Fight
After teasing Tails in the first movie, it is integral that fans get to see a Sonic-Tails team up just like in the video games and books. Even better would be a potential final fight between Eggman/ Dr. Robotnik and Sonic and Tails. As in the previous games and publications, Eggman is too strong for Sonic to take on his own and unlike many arrogant superheroes, he knows when he needs help. Therefore, Sonic 2 would provide the perfect opportunity for Sonic's reinforcements - especially Tails - to come into the scene.
Fans want to see Sonic and Tails working together in perfect harmony against a powerful enemy with his advanced technology. But more important would be the raised stakes and staggering fight moves generated using CGI. With Tails being teased in the mid-credits scene and the sequel's confirmation, this reality is closer than ever.
SKIP: An Over-The-Top Plot
The main danger with any movie based on a video game like Sonic's is the risk of the plot being too over the top. Ignoring character development in favor of a plot that's merely based on giving locations and situations for visually great scenes rather than telling a compelling story could negatively affects the sequel. Even worse, this could further affect its potential box office performance and staying power in pop culture.
It's been seen many times before, with the fans disliking the sequels more than the original film, as in Star Wars with fanbases being divided into three different categories. Sonic 2 needs to keep its head straight and keep the plot simple and focused on characters rather than CGI extravaganzas. Otherwise, it will suffer the same fate as previous franchises being ruined by one bad sequel.
NEEDS TO INCLUDE: An Introduction to Future Sonic Characters
Keeping the tradition of the first film, Sonic 2 has the potential to include many new characters into the film universe, providing a platform for spin-offs and sequels. With Tails already having been briefly introduced, Sonic 2 should include any of the following: Metal Sonic as a villain, Knuckles as a partner to Sonic after his initial trickery by Eggman, Shadow as the anti-hero to Sonic, Amy Rose as a Secondary character and many more.
While it would be a dream come true to see Metal Sonic Vs. Sonic in the movies or the back-and-forth friendship/rivalry between Shadow and Sonic, SEGA should take things one at a time, and gradually introduce all these characters in their individual roles, after some movies, or spin-offs, and have them team up finally in an Endgame style concluding Sonic movie. The budding Sonic franchise has so much potential, and fans are anxious to see where SEGA goes with the universe they started and how they intend to capitalize on modern CGI and animation techniques.
