Idris Elba To Voice Knuckles in ‘Sonic The Hedgehog’ Sequel
“Sonic The Hedgehog 2” has made an exciting casting announcement for a fan-favorite character
Idris Elba will be providing the voice of Knuckles, the red echidna and sometimes enemy sometimes friend of the titular blue hedgehog in Paramount Pictures’ upcoming sequel to one of 2020’s few box office hits. The latest instalment brings back director Jeff Fowler and cast members James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Jim Carrey as the villainous Robotnik and Ben Schwartz as Sonic. Both movies are based on the long running Sega video game franchise.
Elba made his casting official on his Twitter page by giving fans a small teaser poster that hints what Knuckles will look like by showing his hand consisting of his trademark spike knuckles. The sequel takes place after the events of the original and finds Sonic living with his adoptive human parents Tom(Marsden) and Maddie(Sumpter). Things begin to heat up when Robotnik returns from his banishment on a mushroom planet with a powerful new partner, Knuckles as both are seeking an emerald that will allow them to rule society. It’s up to our blue hero and his orange fox friend Tails to get the emerald and stop Robotnik.
Judging from the premise, it seems that Fowler is keeping in line with Knuckles video game origins for this big screen outing. The character debuted in 1994 in “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” in the same role as the evil sidekick who eventually sees through Robotnik’s true intentions and joins Sonic and Tails. He has since become a playable character in future “Sonic” video games and is considered a fan favourite among players.
Elba seems like an excellent choice in bringing Knuckles to life. Known for his brooding tall look and powerful voice, The British actor is no stranger to franchise or voice over work. He has appeared as both hero and villain in such blockbusters as “Star Trek Beyond”, “Thor”, “Hobbs and Shaw” and can currently be seen playing Bloodsport in DC’s “The Suicide Squad”. Elba also voiced Shere Khan in Disney’s live action version of “The Jungle Book”. Upcoming projects for him include the Netflix western “The Harder They Fall” and George Miller’s fantasy romance “Three Thousand Years of Longing”.
Elba is certainly keeping himself busy over these last couple of years and joining this new “Sonic” movie will increase his visibility with the public by brining his unique talent to a popular character and franchise. The first movie was a fun and entertaining adaptation that could have gone wrong but they put the time and effort into it and grossed just under $320 million at the worldwide box office. That gross would have been higher had it not been for pandemic closures but Paramount hopes this next movie can build or improve on that gross.