SInce 2020, Paramount has made it a surprisingly paramount (wink) priority to expand their Sonic cinematic universe. Considering how far they’ve brought it already, with two successful films and a string of tie-in comics, after it nearly imploded upon arrival, the attention it has garnered is more than well earned. Fans of the universe have known for a while that the trilogy capper, featuring longtime franchise favorite Shadow the Hedgehog, is set to release in December of this year; today, though, Paramount capitalized on their recent mysterious teases, dropping the first-look trailer for their long-awaited and speculated Knuckles the Echidna series.
The series’ release date is notched for April 26, situating fans safely within the three month window. With more content inevitably yet to come, the wait won’t be overlong or sparse, by any measure. The Paramount Plus original has been designated a “limited series”, containing six episodes and a plot seemingly set between films. What this means for a sequel is so far undetermined, but either way, the guaranteed first season appears to be packed full of content for fans to enjoy.
Knuckles, accompanied by goofy cop sidekick Wade Whipple (Adam Pally), has his newly peaceful life on Earth interrupted by a former Dr. Robotnik crony. The big bad, played by a heavily bearded Rory McCann (Game of Thrones, Hot Fuzz), has taken a page out of the doctor’s book, harnessing Knuckles’ energetic power by way of his quills. In the trailer, he seems to employ a couple of goons to do his dirty work on the regular, both of which eventually clash with Knuckles and Wade at a bowling alley in a fight reminiscent of Sonic and Knuckles’ first clash from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. One of the villains even quotes Knuckles from that interaction, quipping: “Do I look like I need your power?” in response to a challenge from Knuckles.
In addition to many subtle, smaller connections such as these, the trailer features Sonic, Tails, and Maddie Wachowski in intervals, seemingly disconnected from Knuckles’ journey, at least for a while. The cast are all back to reprise their roles, from Idris Elba, Ben Schwartz, and Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails to Tika Sumpter as the aforementioned Wachowski, the show has managed to maintain complete confluence with its cinematic equivalent. The special effects on display are as dazzling as ever, too, especially for a straight-to-streaming show that heavily utilizes CGI such as this one.
The trailer sports apparent increased focus on the franchise’s signature slapstick humor up to this point as well. This is most notably seen in a sequence in which Knuckles dramatically transforms the Wachowski’s living room into a makeshift battle coliseum, all to pit the family golden retriever in an epic battle against his greatest enemy: the mailman. The comedy has clearly translated well to this longer form of content, and, if anything, has only gotten better. Action comedy, buddy cop, adventure; if it’s a fun genre of any kind, it has a presence here.
“He just hits different.”, cleverly states the tagline stapled to all forms of social promotion the series has seen thus far. Knuckles is set to play like a pit-stop of sorts before Sonic 3 speeds into theaters this Winter, though one sure to satisfy fans with all the best bits of fun and flash the Sonic franchise has to offer. Before the spring-almost-summer release date, be sure to keep an eye on the Sonic Twitter (X) profile for further announcements, as it seems to be his favorite app to deliver related news. If you happen to miss it there, though, we’ll never be far behind in the big, blue cloud of dust. Make sure to sound off in the comments if you’re excited for Knuckles, crashing onto Paramount Plus on April 26.
Movies, long drives, and mint chocolate chip ice cream.
