Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Locks in Westworld Star James Marsden

[AlphaKing]

Westworld star James Marsden will star in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie for Paramount, according to reports. The live-action/animation hybrid has been in the works since 2017 when the studio initially acquired the rights. Jeff Fowler is set to helm the big screen adaptation of the classic video game while Neal H. Fowler will produce the film. It is not clear who Marsden will be portraying in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie at this time, which has led to speculation that he could be the voice of the titular character.

James Marsden is best known for his role as Scott Summers/Cyclops from the X-Men movies and currently stars in HBO's massively successful Westworld as Teddy Flood. As for Sonic the Hedgehog, it appears that the movie is finally in pre-production with a release date set for late 2019. As of now, Marsden is the only actor attached to the live-action/CGI hybrid project, but more casting news is expected to be announced very soon. Additionally, we should find out just exactly who James Marsden will be playing in Sonic the Hedgehog soon as well. As for the plot, it's expected that the film will follow the Sega Genesis game story with Sonic's attempts to prevent Dr. Robotnik from obtaining the Chaos Emeralds, which kind of sounds like Infinity War.

The Sonic the Hedgehog movie is based off of the 1991 Sega Genesis game about a super speedy blue hedgehog who collects rings and goes up against the evil Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. The game was the flagship title for the 16-bit Sega Genesis console and competed with the Nintendo Entertainment System and later the Super Nintendo in the console wars of the early 1990s. The first installment sold over 15 million units alone.

Sonic the Hedgehog was originally going to be made under the Sony banner in 2014, but the project was later scrapped, which led to Paramount getting the rights from Sega in 2017. Sonic has appeared in TV shows, comic books, and games featuring other console characters, and currently holds 7 world records by the Guinness Book of World Records including "Best Selling Game on Sega Systems," "Longest Running Comic Based on a Video Game," and "Best Selling Retro Game Compilation." In addition to the aforementioned media releases, Sonic the Hedgehog also appeared in Disney's Wreck-It Ralph.

Sonic the Hedgehog will race into theaters on November 15th, 2019. Video game fans have been waiting a long time to see what the iconic blue hedgehog will be up to when he hits the big screen and the addition of James Marsden is certainly a step in the right direction for those fans who were on the fence about a CGI/live-action hybrid. One thing is for sure: it can't be worse that the Super Mario Bros. movie that came out in 1993. You can read more about James Marsden signing on to the Sonic the Hedgehog movie over at Variety.