Idris Elba was just seen playing a lovable villain of sorts in The Suicide Squad, and now he’s signed on for a similar role in the Sonic The Hedgehog sequel.
Elba will play Sonic’s frenemy Knuckles the Echidna in the film, which will see Ben Schwartz reprise his role as the speedy blue protagonist, James Marsden as his human friend, and Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik.
The sequel will be directed by Jeff Fowler with Pat Casey and Josh Miller writing the script, just like the first film. This time around, Sonic is ready for more freedom, and his human pals Tom and Maddie agree to leave him home while they go on holiday.
But, soon after they’ve left, Dr. Robotnik returns with a new partner, Knuckles, in search for an emerald that has the power to both build and destroy civilizations. Sonic then has to team up with his own sidekick, Tails, to embark on a journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands.
It’s slightly hard to understand why an actor of Elba’s stature would feel the need to play a supporting role in a children’s film sequel. But maybe the money was too good to turn down. The first Sonic film was mildly well received, especially after the disaster that was the original trailer, and became the second highest grossing American film of 2020 in a pandemic-affected year.
Elba will next be seen in Netflix’s all-Black western The Harder They Fall, which also stars Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, Lakeith Stanfield, and Delroy Lindo.
That arrives in November. He also recently finished filming George Miller‘s Three Thousand Years Of Longing opposite Tilda Swinton.
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is currently scheduled for an April 8, 2022 release.
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