Back in the early 1990s, Sonic the Hedgehog was a videogame hero big enough to be considered a viable rival to Nintendo’s unassailable Super Mario. The blue mammal’s debut game, a platformer with an eye-catching turn of speed, was a stark contrast to the measured pace of Mario’s adventures, turning Sega’s console, the Mega Drive (or Genesis in the US) a trendy alternative to Nintendo’s system, the Super NES.
All that may be decades ago now, but there’s still a huge nostalgia for that era, its consoles and Sonic in his heyday – which explains why Paramount Pictures, along with producer Neal H Moritz, has picked up the rights to make a Sonic the Hedgehog movie from Sega.
Shelved after years in development at Sony, Moritz has now found a new home for the Sonic movie project at Paramount, where he’s serving as executive producer alongside Deadpool director Tim Miller. According to the Hollywood Reporter, their movie will be a mixture of live action and CGI, with director Jeff Fowler making his feature debut.
It may be a long time since the days of Sonic mania in 1990, but with the Blue Blur still a source of fond memories for a generation of gamers, maybe Paramount’s movies will recapture some of his 16-bit era magic.
More news on this as we get it.