Idris Elba will play Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Ben Schwartz is Sonic the Hedgehog, Jim Carrey is Dr. Eggman, and Idris Elba is Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie, adapted from the long-running series of video games about a wise-cracking blue animal who runs really really fast, went through a lot of changes before finally debuting in 2020. First, the original poster came out and Sonic’s design frightened people:

Then they changed it, and the movie ended up being a big hit!

A sequel was inevitable. And what do you do after you’ve already made a movie about Sonic the Hedgehog infiltrating the human world and making friends with James Marsden? You introduce his little friends from the games. He’s collected a lot of them over the years, including Tails the helicopter-tailed fox and Knuckles the fist-fighting echidna.

And indeed, Knuckles is on the way. And he’s played by none other than The Suicide Squad star Irdis Elba, as Elba revealed on Twitter:

In the original movie, Sonic was played by Ben Schwartz, who’s known for stuff like Parks and Recreation but isn’t a huge name. But Jim Carrey played the villainous Doctor Eggman/Robotnik, so clearly the the producers have no problem with casting celebrities. Idris Elba takes things to another level.

But who’s playing Tails? Let the dream casting begin.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 premieres on April 8, 2022.

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