Blue blur or blue bleurgh? Here’s a new (leaked) look at the Sonic movie

It’s 2019 and we’re all looking towards the imminent release of several upcoming  movies, including (*checks notes*) the first-ever Sonic the Hedgehog movie. What a world. You might be wondering what took them so long. In fact, once you’ve spied the first potentially-leaked art from the movie, you should be asking how they could make Sonic look, well, like that. Because, brother, that ain’t Sonic.

So, here it is, in all of its majesty: it’s not too bad in terms of an overall Sonic design. He’s got the ‘tude and the slightly-annoying-but-lovable-anyway charm that wowed everyone in the ‘90s (reminder: it’s 2019), but there’s still something a little off about the colourful, spiky mammal.

See what I mean? This design formed part of a “film style guide” set from brand developers Hamagami/Carroll Associates (H/T Polygon). Tellingly, the entire gallery of images has now been removed, which seems to suggest that someone pressed publish a little earlier than they maybe should have done. Or, cynically, it’s all a big marketing ploy to drum up controversy and/or interest.

Whatever they were going for, it’s out in the wild now. Those beady, green eyes are forever burned into our collective memories and the weird, knuckles (no, not that Knuckles) protruding out of Sonic’s hand just doesn’t quite look right. Full marks for the logo, though. 

It gets even more surreal when you remember that Parks and Recreation’s Jean Ralphio – actor Ben Schwartz – is signed on to play Sonic. Opposing him? Jim Carrey as Doctor Robotnik.

Now, I’m not saying we’re in a computer simulation, but the evidence is piling up because there’s certainly a glitch in the matrix happening somewhere.

Will the Sonic movie make it into the pantheon of the best video game movies? Who knows, but you can keep an eye on the 'hog and the rest of the characters making the leap from console to the big screen with our list of upcoming video game movies.