Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Says Interesting Things About Fan Casting

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Fans don't always know what they want. Anyone who loves a media franchise has probably seen dozens or hundreds of other devotees throw their weight behind a terrible potential pitch on social media. The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has an astonishingly committed fanbase who frequently take it upon themselves to suggest creative changes to the artists they ostensibly respect. Viewers love to imagine their favorite performers taking roles that they would never likely choose. Oddly enough, the Sonic movies feature a few examples of unlikely actors delivering stellar performances.

The Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise was never a sure bet. Its initial reveal through a few teasers and posters inspired an overwhelming backlash, eventually leading to an apparent redesign. The first film's initial release changed the conversation around video game movies. With the help of Detective Pikachu a few years earlier, Sonic provided a welcome end to the universal expectation of terrible video game movies. As the third film prepares to hit the screen, their legacy is secure at the top of the pile.

The two biggest upcoming adaptations of interactive classics say a lot about the nature of the ailing medium as it moves into a new era.

Anyone who has looked into popular fan casts knows how they typically look. They often revolve around five or six notable performers, ignoring anyone who hasn't appeared in a billion-dollar blockbuster. Most examples rely overwhelmingly on superficial characteristics. They do little more than attempt to match the broad appearance of a character, rather than affording any concern to the personality traits one would have to embody to play the role. Those that are slightly more considered may take performance into account, but even those examples are somewhat lacking in nuance. The only example most fans can point to when selecting an actor for a role is previous experience. An actor who previously portrayed an intimidating villain will receive a million fan casting suggestions for other intimidating villains. This is a particularly lazy form of typecasting, which ignores the possibility that an actor could surprise fans by doing something radically different. Even professional casting directors get this wrong at times, proving that it's no easy task. Seeing all of these obvious problems play out again and again in every popular fan cast makes it almost impossible to take any example seriously.

Film

Casting Directors

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Nicole Abellera, Jeanne McCarthy, and Leslie Woo

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)

Corrine Clark, Katie Doyle, Jennifer Page, Janelle Scuderi, and Tricia Wood

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)

Sophie Holland

The voice cast in Sonic the Hedgehog features some of the most compelling on-screen talent in the genre. Almost none of them are typically voice actors, but they each rise to the occasion. Ben Schwartz was an excellent choice for Sonic, eschewing the need to stuntcast celebrities in favor of an up-and-coming comedic actor. He's far more famous now, partially with Sonic's help. When that Superbowl ad showed off Idris Elba's Knuckles, the audience lost their minds in excitement about Sonic 2. He was the kind of talent that fans would pitch for the role with the understanding that the man behind Luther would never take the role of a cartoon echidna. He seemed like an impossible option, but he's excellent in the role. When Sonic 2 teased Shadow, Keanu Reeves became one of the go-to fan requests to provide his voice. Again, it seemed impossible, but the first trailer proudly featured the John Wick star. These are both excellent choices, but they're also the kind of ambitious picks that fans would make with no consideration of realism.

The most interesting casting choice in the Sonic franchise is probably Tails. Instead of reaching out to another celebrity, the franchise brought back Colleen O'Shaughnessey, the character's longtime voice actor. They could have hired any number of iconic performers. Imagine Jacob Tremblay or some other famed child actor behind that beloved fox. The choice to lean into celebrity casting when it works and away when it doesn't is a show of restraint. The problem with fan casting is that it works from an incomplete data set. Professional casting directors have information that fans often don't, allowing them to make interesting calls. Reeves and Elba are more than stunt casting, even if they seem like wins for fans offering requests.

Most fan casting decisions come from a place of ignorance. It's a shot in the dark that couldn't possibly nail the right choice most of the time. At the end of the day, picking the guy who played John Wick to play another guy like John Wick over and over again is boring. That's not an interesting way to use new or old talent. A broken clock is right twice a day, and talents like Elba and Reeves can do just about everything. Sonic has a long history of excellent voice talent, and the professionals that get the job done remain consistent.

As the third Sonic movie draws hype, it seems more and more like the Echidna's spinoff was the fun side adventure it promised.

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