Paramount Pictures uploaded the reveal trailer on their YouTube channel last week, giving us another brief glance into the latest Sonic movie, Sonic the Hedgehog 4. While the video is as brief as brief can be, I get the feeling this fourth movie will be just as epic as the previous three in the series.

I’m always excited to see more news on the Sonic the Hedgehog movies! The Sonic franchise is one of the first fandoms that I remember a much-younger Kris getting into. The show “The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog” was a staple to my cartoon line-up, and we really started getting into the video games around the time of Sonic Adventure DX, the GameCube edition. I’m so pleased with how well the movies are doing, and how much care and love have obviously gone into them!

I remember a little bit of The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, but I mostly remember watching Sonic X on Saturday mornings. I’ll admit I don’t have as much knowledge of the Sonic franchise than I probably should, but I have enough knowledge to recognize what’s going on in the live action movies and understand most of the easter eggs. I’m looking forward to the fourth movie and I’m pleased to see that Jim Carrey is making a return as Dr. Eggman, along with the introduction of Amy Rose.

Jim Carrey is amazing as Dr. Eggman, and I’m pleased that he’s returning as well. I will admit, however, that I would not have been disappointed if Jim Carrey wanted to step away as I believe the third movie was a fitting ending for his character. Lee Majdoub’s Agent Stone would have done well if they had wanted to transition him into the main villain in the wake of Eggman’s demise. Speaking of villains, though, it seems as if Metal Sonic is the main contender for Sonic the Hedgehog 4. I’ve been seeing theories as to which game the fourth movie will follow since Metal Sonic is featured. Sonic Boom has been thrown around, but since Shadow is a main character in the movies, Sonic Heroes seems to be up there as well.

I believe Agent Stone would make an excellent villain, but I do appreciate the relationship he and Dr. Eggman have, so I am happy to have the duo back again. The title reveal trailer, admittedly, didn’t reveal a whole lot in terms of the plot and any (other) new characters we may see. We know Amy Rose is in the movie from the end credit scene of the third movie, and she was also in the reveal trailer. It’s also been announced that Kristen Bell is voicing Amy Rose. Metal Sonic was also shown in the end credit scene of the third movie, and he’s only shown for a brief second in the background at the end of the reveal trailer. Music undertones of the trailer revealed Sonic Boom may be canon in the movies and, I agree with Kris, that with Shadow as a main character now Sonic Heroes may also be in the running. Regardless, I don’t know how many new characters they’ll introduce for the fourth movie, but I do hope Rouge the Bat ends up being a nice surprise.

I don’t know too much about Sonic Boom as a game, admittedly, so I’m latching onto the idea of Sonic Heroes playing heavily into the plot. Aside from Shadow and Rouge, who would absolutely be amazing to see, Sonic Heroes has a plethora of other characters. We’ve had a handful of other voice actors announced without any characters tied to them just yet, so who knows what other characters will be featured. Team Chaotix, anyone?

Since I know more about Sonic Heroes than I do about Sonic Boom, I would love for the Heroes characters to come into play. Many people in the comments of the YouTube video were mentioning that they’d love to see Big the Cat. If Big is in the movie, along with Amy, we have most of Team Rose right there. We’d also need Cream and her adorable Chao companion, Cheese. Although–maybe I’m getting a little ahead of the game–I feel like Sonic Heroes would be great for the fifth movie (depending on what happens in movie four, of course). I can’t imagine they’ll introduce so many new characters in one movie. We have Metal Sonic and Amy confirmed, and I’m hoping Rouge is the surprise. Otherwise, they risk the plot being too messy. I think that’s all we’ll see for “new” characters.

Aside from how many new characters Sonic Heroes would introduce, I imagine such a big plot would also shove some of the other original characters to the side. Obviously, the Sonic movies should focus mostly on Sonic and the characters we know and love from the games. However, something I really enjoyed about the first and second movie was the found family aspect that Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles had with Tom and Maddie. In the third movie, I believe Tom and Maddie had less than 10 minutes of screentime. Balancing all of the characters is a delicate process, but I do hope that the family theme is still shown in the fourth movie.

I think the family theme will still be present in the fourth movie. I too agree that I wish we saw Tom, Maddie, and even Rachel more in the third movie. I have a feeling that Tom and Maddie are going to end up “adopting” Amy and will be looking to buy a bigger house. That said, I too appreciate the dynamic between Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. All their personalities are true to the characters we know and love and they compliment one another well. I just wonder how they’ll go about the “rival” situation with Shadow and Metal Sonic present.

I adored Rachel in the first couple of movies! I was disappointed that we only saw a “glimpse” of her in the third. Shadow also needs a family, and I’d totally be down to the fourth movie just being ridiculously domestic with these alien beings trying to fit in on Earth. Semi-joking aside, in the Sonic Adventure 2: Battle game, Amy ends up reminding Shadow of Maria, prompting him to remember his promise to Maria to protect the world rather than destroy it. Obviously, the third movie’s plot was mostly inspired by that same game, but I’m curious as to how the fourth movie will showcase Amy’s and Shadow’s dynamic. There are so many possibilities with so many characters and plotlines the movie could go.

Honestly, given the way the movies have been going, they seem to follow a similar formula. Shadow is going to make a mistake and come to his senses and eventually help Sonic and the gang and then they’ll become friends. I don’t know if I can say the same thing for Metal Sonic. I think he’ll be an issue. I wonder if they’re going to introduce Amy in a similar way they introduced Tails? She just happens upon Earth because she was looking for something (or someone). Also, I’m impressed at how much we’re speculating how these characters will be in the fourth movie when we don’t even know the plot and are going off of an end credit scene and a 35-second teaser.

I’m sure they gave us the end credit scenes and a 35-second teaser because they were meant to be analyzed, haha! Rather, they were supposed to generate buzz and excitement, which I would say they’re doing well, at least for us. It’s such a beloved franchise with so many possibilities, that we want to see our favorite storylines and are probably a little worried at how well the characters will be portrayed. I have faith the fourth movie will be just as good as the first three movies, regardless of our speculation.

Kris

Kris is the older sister of the pair, and has been playing video games since she was able to read. She was introduced to the gaming world mainly by her uncles with the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 consoles.

As a child, she wanted to grow up to be a teenage mutant ninja turtle, but instead she works a typical 9 to 5 office job. Much of her other time is spent pet-sitting, writing, and role-playing shenanigans in tabletop RPGs.

Rachel

Often seen as the second player, Rachel grew up watching Kris play video games before she was old enough to pick up a Nintendo controller herself. Now she only sometimes gives Kris the hard bosses to defeat.

In real life, Rachel is a full-time pet sitter and part-time storyteller. She writes game reviews for Pure Nintendo Magazine, and is working on creating her own video game.