The Big Picture

• Sonic the Hedgehog characters have the means to travel to alternate worlds with their rings.
• The Sonic film franchise is hindered by staying on Earth, meaning it lacks narrative diversity.
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will stay Earthbound, missing the potential to explore the vast universe.

The Sonic the Hedgehog movies have been fun and well-received by the franchise's passionate fanbase. However, the multimedia franchise, which recently transitioned to streaming television with the Knuckles miniseries, appears noticeably hampered by a growing obstacle. The central events of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Knuckles remain anchored on planet Earth, even though Earth is not the home planet of Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. The experience is dulled because the writers refuse to explore more vibrant worlds. The films tease glimpses of other planets, such as Sonic and Knuckles' unnamed homeworld, and the Mushroom Planet, where Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) was stranded for a while. Although it doesn't look like the Sonic film franchise will leave Earth later this year with Sonic the Hedgehog 3, it's time for the franchise to escape the safe confines of Earth and explore the vast universe at its disposal.

The Characters in 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Have the Means to Easily Travel to Alternate Worlds

One striking element of Sonic the Hedgehog is Sonic's connection to Green Hills and how he views the town as his new home. Sonic was offended when he realized that Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) wanted to relocate to San Francisco, leaving his hometown in the middle of nowhere in Montana. While Sonic grew fond of the small town, it seemed such a far cry from previous iterations of Sonic, who never seemed like the type of person who would want to settle down and put down roots, especially in his wild, rebellious teens. But this is a different version of Sonic, who was orphaned at a young age and raised by Longclaw. The two are later separated after an attack by the elders of Knuckles' Echidna tribe, leaving Sonic alone on Earth. However, with his rings, Sonic could travel anywhere on Earth or even go to other worlds.

The rings are still out there in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie universe. The rogue G.U.N. agents, Willoughby (Ellie Taylor) and Mason (Scott Mescudi) have access to Sonic's recovered rings in the Knuckles miniseries. They are used as ammo in a fancy portal gun. Tails also uses rings to travel to other worlds and Earth in Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Pre-Quill comic tie-in. Since the ability for quick and easy travel to other worlds across the universe already exists within the franchise, it should not be difficult from a narrative standpoint.

The 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Franchise Is Held Back by Staying Earthbound

In all fairness, the Knuckles miniseries was likely extremely limited from a budgetary standpoint. That means the series could not do much exploration beyond giving Knuckles and Wade Whipple (Adam Pally) a road trip across rural America, with the final act taking place in Reno, Nevada. That said, with the two theatrical features and Knuckles mainly taking place on Earth, it would be nice if later entries shook things up with a new setting. The Sonic the Hedgehog video games are defined by striking, exotic, and unique locations.

The movies do feature scenes and settings that pay homage to the video games, but it feels like a copout that they all primarily have to stay on planet Earth when other alien worlds exist. Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails primarily have to interact with each other or other human characters. And unfortunately, the human characters are the franchise’s weak link. Therefore, an easy solution is to expand the scope of the film franchise by taking the main characters to other worlds and planets.

If future Sonic the Hedgehog movies take their adventures off-world, the main characters could encounter new, colorful characters. Tom and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) can join Sonic and his friends to maintain the human element for narrative purposes. It would be nice to have the shoe on the other foot, seeing the humans as the proverbial fish out of water, contrasting the previous two movies and Knuckles, which largely showcase the aliens learning more about human and Earth culture. Future films could feature Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails returning to their respective home worlds.

Imagine if films could visit Little Planet, which would be a great way to introduce characters such as Amy Rose and Metal Sonic, who first appear in the Sonic CD video game. The fanbase avidly anticipates Amy Rose's arrival, and a new female character would provide a refreshing addition to the cast. If the main characters embark on new adventures, rather than passively waiting for others to arrive, the experience will be more exciting. This would stimulate more character development for the main cast, and it would provide the perfect opportunity to introduce other anthropomorphic alien characters. The potential for new characters is vast, with fans anxiously awaiting the big-screen debuts of Amy, Rouge the Bat, the Chaotix, and Big the Cat. There's no reason to stop at Shadow the Hedgehog in Sonic 3. Arguably, Shadow might only be the tip of the iceberg for introducing new characters to the film series.

Sonic Leaving Earth Offers Poignant Thematic Material

The Sonic the Hedgehog movies depict Sonic creating a found family with the Wachowskis, Tails, and Knuckles. Tom and Maddie now view the trio as their "kids," and Sonic views the Wachowskis as his adopted parents. Considering Sonic begins the franchise as a young orphan separated from his owl guardian, it makes sense thematically that he would yearn for a home. Therefore, Sonic should eventually answer the call to leave Green Hills, Montana for a new adventure.

Much like the films present the metaphor for the found family, future adventures that take Sonic off-world could provide a metaphor about children growing up and leaving the nest, going off on their own. The material suggests that Sonic has a greater destiny, and he will likely travel to other worlds to help other people and face other villains and threats. If Sonic does part ways with his adopted family, that would provide future film installments with some bittersweet, poignant material, as well as an opportunity for tremendous character development for Sonic, who accepts his calling as a hero to liberate or protect his animal brethren across the universe.

'Sonic the Hedgehog 3' Is Likely Staying on Earth

Although the Sonic the Hedgehog film series should consider moving things off-world sooner rather than later, it doesn’t seem like that's happening anytime soon. It looks like the next big-screen installment of the franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, is keeping things Earthbound. The mid-credits scene for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 indicates that coordinates were discovered on an old government black site dating back over 50 years, teasing the appearance of Shadow the Hedgehog. However, the stinger scene didn't indicate anything about the black site being off-planet or off-world.

An early teaser trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was recently shown at CinemaCon in Las Vegas earlier in April. Nothing from the footage indicated that Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Shadow, and Dr. Robotnik would be taking their fight away from planet Earth. For now, it appears Sonic and his friends are stuck on Earth and Green Hills. It remains to be seen if future sequels or other spinoffs will consider shifting the characters away from planet Earth. Keeping events perpetually on Earth seems rather mundane for a franchise such as Sonic the Hedgehog, especially since the film series has already revealed the existence of other planets. It's time the franchise explores its universe beyond the confines of Earth and Green Hills.

The recent Knuckles spinoff is streaming now on Paramount+, along with Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be sprinting into theaters on December 20.

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