Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Clip: Dr. Robotnik Is Back To Deliver A Knuckles Sandwich

Two years after the live-action "Sonic The Hedgehog" film hit theaters, it's still hard to believe it was actually good. After a memorably terrible response to the first footage released led the film's team to a full animation redesign, the movie sounded like it would be fated for the trash pile. Yet here we are, in 2022, with a new "Sonic the Hedgehog" movie on the horizon. Weirder yet, we're actually kind of excited about it.

In a just-released clip from the upcoming film, our fast-running hero Sonic (Ben Schwartz) faces off against Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and gets introduced to his new nemesis — Knuckles (Idris Elba). Of course, players of the classic video game series know the flame-red echidna will become a good guy later on, but here he's all menace, punching Sonic through a wall with his electric red hand. 

Knuckles only has one line in the 58-second clip ("Pitiful."), but it's enough for fans to decide if Elba will make or break the role. I personally find his gravelly villain voice coming from a cute little red guy hilarious, but given the goofy humor the first movie was known for, maybe we're meant to. In this scene, though, he's presented as Dr. Robotnik's ultra-powerful answer to Sonic. "Sonic, meet Knuckles," the villain says, "my new BFFAE: bestest friend forever and ever."

The first Sonic film worked well in part because Carrey brought his over-the-top comedic A-game to a mad scientist role that could've just involved embarrassing scenery-chewing. It's great to see him back on screen again, fake mustache seemingly bigger than ever, as he taunts Sonic after Knuckles smashes him through a TV set. Trailers for the upcoming movie have already revealed that this time around, Dr. Robotnik found a powerful green gem that seemingly brought Knuckles through a portal to earth.

Those trailers also include a quip that references Marvel's Captain America movies, when Sonic calls Knuckles "The Winter Soldier." This new clip actually makes that dichotomy seem even more accurate; Knuckles is acting like a pre-programmed supersoldier who exists to be Sonic's dark opposite. The countdown clock to people shipping these two fuzzy superpowered mammals starts now.

The comparison is made even more apt by the fact that "Sonic the Hedgehog" was the highest-grossing superhero movie of 2020, and had the best opening weekend of any video game adaptation to date. Will its sequel fare just as well now that competitors like Marvel seem to be back in full swing after pandemic delays? We'll find out when the movie races to theaters on April 8, 2022.