When the first trailer for the upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog movie was released by Paramount, fan reaction to the character design of the main hog himself was overwhelmingly negative: with an uncanny valley-esque facial structure and humanoid eyes, Sonic was a far departure from his iconic design and was, simply, off-putting to consumers. The immense backlash eventually prompted director Jeff Fowler to redesign the animated character entirely, with the movie being delayed until February as a result.
Paramount has kept the new redesign for Sonic The Hedgehog out of the public eye for now, but a recent leak now reportedly offers fans a good, up-close look at version two of the film's protagonist. It's a marked improvement from the original, with the humanoid eyes being replaced by a larger, comic-style look that's more in line with the source material:
Of course, neither director Jeff Fowler nor Paramount pictures have commented on the alleged leak just yet, so fans should look at the above image with a grain of salt. If it ends up being legitimate, the general consensus is that this redesign is much more on-the-money for what fans had originally expected.
Still, the original trailer with the strange-looking Sonic will go down in history as one of the most universally-disliked trailers of all time. When one pitches a product heavily influenced on the nostalgia of gamers, it's important that it gets the basics correct - and hopefully that's a lesson that Paramount Pictures will take with it going forward.
When the film eventually launches in February 2020, fans will finally be able to see the redesigned Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) square up against his iconic foe, Dr. Ivo Robotnik (voiced by Jim Carrey). Sonic will be on the run from the government, collecting rings and squaring off against his long-time nemesis. As a modern remake of a nostalgic brand, the film will need to tread carefully, lest it end up like the live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film from 2014.
Whatever happens, at least Sonic is almost guaranteed to grace screens in a much more appealing form than when he was shown in his original trailer. Without significant fan backlash, the studio wouldn't have greenlit such an arduous endeavor like a total character redesign at this stage of the film's development, so kudos to the gaming community for doing its part.
Source: Tails' Channel (via Twitter)