Idris Elba Will Voice Knuckles in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Movie

Idris Elba is joining the cast of the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie as the voice of Knuckles the Echidna. Knuckles arrives in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as a villain, teaming up with Dr. Robotnik to hunt for a powerful emerald (a Chaos Emerald). If Sonic and Tails don’t stop them, they’ll have the power to destroy entire civilizations.

Elba joins some other prominent names in the movie’s cast. Ben Schwartz returns to voice the titular blue hedgehog, while James Marsden is back as Sonic’s adoptive father Thomas Michael “Tom” Wachowski. His second adoptive mother, Maddie Wachowski, will once again be played by Tika Sumpter. Adam Pally plays Tom’s chief deputy Wade Whipple, while Natasha Rothwell will take the role of Maddie’s sister Rachel. Knuckles’ partner in crime, Dr. Robotnik, sees Jim Carrey return to the role again. Shemar Moore has also been confirmed as having a role in the film, although his character is yet to be revealed. We also don’t yet know who will voice Miles “Tails” Prower.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is being directed by Jeff Fowler again and will follow shortly after the events of the first film:

After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is ready for more freedom, and Tom and Maddie agree to leave him home while they go on vacation. But, no sooner are they gone, when Dr. Robotnik comes back, this time with a new partner, Knuckles, in search for an emerald that has the power to both build and destroy civilizations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, and together they embark on a journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands.

Despite initial criticism for the design of Sonic and a delay so the character could be redesigned, the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie had an extremely successful launch, hitting theaters just before Covid lockdowns in 2020. The movie achieved the biggest ever opening weekend for a video game movie in North America and eventually grossed around $320 million across the world. The second movie is now looking to recreate that success when it comes to theaters in April 2022.