Sonic The Hedgehog is a smash hit in theaters. It broke records, becoming the highest grossing release of a video game film to date. It even bested last year’s Detective Pikachu and has been receiving mostly critical praise from audiences.
Of course, once a movie achieves such a level of success, talks inevitably turn toward the sequel. Can Sonic continue his winning ways with a second foray onto the big screen? A lot of people think that he can, and there are some major rumors surrounding a potential Sonic The Hedgehog 2.
One of the biggest rumors going is that Sonic’s friend/rival Knuckles The Echidna might make an appearance in a major way.
Knuckles is a fan favorite character in the Sonic franchise, and would likely be enough to generate interest in this movie with his presence alone. But Paramount Pictures is rumored to be courting a major movie star to voice Knuckles, which would undoubtedly put a lot of attention on this project.
That star is none other than Dwayne The Rock Johnson.
The former WWE Champion turned action megastar is rumored to be in talks to bring Knuckles to life on the big screen.
The Rock is no stranger to voice acting roles. He turned a lot of heads in recent years with his role as the demigod Maui in Disney’s Moana. Johnson not only voiced the popular character, but he even sang on screen, performing the song “You’re Welcome,” written by Lin Manuel Miranda.
It would make sense for Knuckles to appear in the sequel. After all, the film all but confirmed the presence of another major Sonic character for its next incarnation in a spoilery post credits scene. But, if you look beyond that, we got to see some of Knuckles’s people, the echidnas, in the beginning of the film when they chased Sonic away from his home planet.
Knuckles first appeared in the Sega Genesis game Sonic Adventure 3. He is the guardian of the Master Emereld, and was manipulated by Doctor Robotnik into opposing Sonic throughout the game. However, he eventually comes to realize the extent of Eggman’s treachery and joins up with Sonic as one of his closest allies.
Knuckles was so popular that he even starred in a sequel game for the Sega Genesis called Sonic and Knuckles. That game had a feature which allowed you to play as Knuckles in previous Sonic games as well, retroactively adding him to past installments.
