It’s not every day you get to see Idris Elba play a furry anteater, but that’s exactly what you’ll see in the trailer below. He’s back as everyone’s favorite echidna – the eponymous Knuckles – and will star in the Sonic the hedgehog spin-off series Knuckles it comes to Paramount Plus on April 26. The trailer is the first part of a two-hander promo push, the second part will air as a TV spot during the Superbowl on Sunday.
The series takes place between the films Sonic the Hedgehog 2 And Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and it follows the titular anteater and Sonic sidekick as he agrees to train Agent Wade (Adam Pally) in the ways of the Echidna warrior. The target? To save the world, of course. Dr. Robotnik isn’t the bad guy this time, but one of his lackeys, The Buyer, is – and The Buyer wants Knuckles’ power.
Knuckles feels super Sonic
Although the series is only six episodes long, the list of guest stars somehow manages to include Stockard Channing, Edi Patterson, Scott Mescudi, Ellie Taylor, Julian Barratt, Christopher Lloyd, Cary Elwes, Paul Scheer, Rory McCann and Rob Huebel. Sonic and Tails also return, with their voices provided by Ben Schwartz and Colleen O’Shaughnessey, and Tika Sumpter reprises her role as vet Maddie Wachowski from the two Sonic films. Sadly, there is no Jim Carrey – while he is retired from a Sonic project, it is for the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie and not the TV show.
I have high expectations for it Knuckles. the footage I’ve seen so far suggests it’s an entertaining mix of silliness and action, and it comes from the same brain as the surprisingly excellent Sonic the hedgehog movies. They’re obviously not as fun as playing the games, but they are among the better game adaptations out there and contain significantly more LOLs and quite a few more gold coins than The last of us.
The trick here is to manage expectations. The films were fun kids’ flicks with plenty of fun for the adults, with the first earning a place in our roundup of the best Paramount Plus films, and it looks like the spin-off series will be much the same, so keep checking out our best Paramount Plus series to find out if it measures up. If anything, it could be more enjoyable: many reviews of the films felt they overstayed their welcome slightly, stretching out the enjoyment just a little too long. Knuckles’ episodes promise to be a lot spicier.