The ongoing drama over the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie's irregular depiction of its protagonist persists. Confusion, if not frustration, continues to grow over the film's decision to visually rework Sonic in an effort to better adapt him to a real-world setting. Now, the movie's official Twitter account has shared a meme to make light of the situation, but it may have backfired a bit instead.
The image the Sonic the Hedgehog film's Twitter account released features a pair of bodybuilder's legs photoshopped blue and wearing Sonic's red sneakers below a white cutout made out to be a sign. White gloves reach out from each side to hold the sign up, and Sonic's spiky hair peaks out over the top. The sign itself reads as follows:
The joke is referencing Sonic's uncomfortably toned legs as shown in the film's two posters, with the first official teaser which outlining Sonic's odd new figure and the second leaked poster featuring a Sonic selfie atop Golden Gate Bridge. Sonic has, for over a decade an a half now, featured very noodle-like appendages.
If there's one reliable guideline when it comes to making promotional images on the Internet, it's that photos featuring signs or other white space will inevitably be used in ways unintended. The original tweets replies are filled with mocking edits to the sign that range from silly to downright inappropriate. While there's said to be no such thing as bad publicity, the Sonic the Hedgehog film may be putting that saying to the test.
At this point, however, it's definitely clear that the Sonic the Hedgehog movie is of the belief that even the negative attention is beneficial. The marketing for the film could very easily rip the band-aid off, so to speak, and unveil the new Sonic's look in full. Doing so would give fans as much time as possible between now and the film's release to get used to the idea of Sonic's new look. That the marketing team hasn't done so yet implies that it must find value in the ongoing negative attention.
One thing is undeniable, though, and it's that even in a majority of the negative edits of today's latest image from Paramount, the film's release date remains in full sight of the picture released by the movie's official Twitter account. So, by the time the film's marketing campaign is over, it's safe to presume that almost everyone will know there's a Sonic the Hedgehog film coming out next year.
Sonic the Hedgehog is set to release in theaters on November 8, 2019.