It’s fascinating to watch certain eras of TV and filmmaking arrive when those eras are essentially over. And by that, I mean you’ll remember during the pandemic, to keep investors happy and to show them, “Don’t worry, no theaters won’t stop us from releasing content,” every studio under the sun greenlit a ton of spin-offs of their biggest brands. Basically, this era was a great time for content creators because studios were ravenous for content. But that content bubble burst, many shows were canceled and by 2023, we already saw a major retraction and retreat for this model. But some of that content was announced so late, it’s only arriving just now, like “Knuckles,” the series spin-off to Paramount’s “Sonic The Hedgehog” franchise.
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A few months before “Sonic The Hedgehog 2” would arrive in 2022, feeling confident about the film, Paramount announced the spin-off series, “Knuckles,” centering on Idris Elba’s villain character from the upcoming second film. The series was supposed to arrive in 2023, perhaps to keep the ‘Sonic’ franchise momentum going while they waited for ‘Part 3’ in late 2024.
And well, “Knuckles” now kind of feels like the type of project that would be scuttled if it were announced a few months later, but instead, it’s ready to roll soon, one of the last spin-off vestiges of this short-lived era where everyone seemed to get a spin-off.
Taking place between the events of “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” (2022) and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024), the series follows Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Idris Elba) as he trains Deputy Sheriff Wade Whipple (Adam Pally) in the ways of the Echidna warrior.
Created by John Whittington and Toby Ascher, this live-action “Knuckles” show is definitely well-tied into the mothership, and franchise director Jeff Fowler, who has directed all the ‘Sonic’ films thus far, including the upcoming third installment, has directed the pilot episode.
The series also features Cary Elwes, Edi Patterson, Julian Barratt, Scott Mescudi, Ellie Taylor, Rory McCann, Tika Sumpter, Stockard Channing, Christopher Lloyd, Paul Scheer, and Rob Huebel.
Additional directors on the series include Jorma Taccone, Carol Banker, Brandon Trost, and Ged Wright. “Sonic The Hedgehog 3” is due in theaters on December 20, 2024, and this series will apparently lay some groundwork for the film and even tease out some Easter Eggs for it.
And finally, today, we got our first look at the series. “Knuckles,” which will arrive on April 26, 2024 via Paramount+. Watch the first trailer below.