Jim Carrey was once one of the hugest stars in Hollywood, but in the last few years, he has laid rather low. He is set to make a comeback with the dark comedy ‘Kidding’ on Showtime and he is returning to the big screen in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ a live action/CGI hybrid based on the famous Sega video game character. Obviously, the character of Sonic will be rendered in CGI, but everyone has been wondering how Carrey’s role, Doctor Eggman Robotnik would be rendered in this film.
Of course, one of Carrey’s earliest and best remembered roles was in ‘The Mask’ in which Carrey’s own rubber-faced performance was merged with CGI enhancements. Would a similar approach be applied to ‘Sonic’?
It appears not. Carrey appeared at the Television Critics Association press tour to plug both ‘Kidding’ and ‘Sonic’ and he briefly discussed his role as Dr. Robotnik. “It will be live-action,” he disclosed. He then shouted at the crowd that his role would be brought to life through “Magic, mixed with desperation!”
Carrey will star opposite James Marsden and Tika Sumpter. This marks Jeff Fowler’s directorial debut when it comes to a full-length movie, but he did direct the short ‘Gopher Broke’ which was nominated for an Academy Award. He previously worked on visual effects for the live action adaptation of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’.
Previously, Paramount’s CEO James Gianopulos described the film and its CGI protagonist, saying “He’s a juvenile delinquent on the adventures in a pretty straight rural environment with a local policeman. It was instantly engaging and it was good enough where you could see where it’s going.” Separately, producer Neal Moritz stated, “What we’re trying to do with ‘Sonic’ is make a movie about a small-town police officer and Sonic at a time when they are both desperately in need of a friend, and we hope that this theme is friendship is what gives the film its heart and makes it prosper.” Tim Miller, who directed the first ‘Deadpool’ is producing.
It appears that ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ is still in production. Not much else has been disclosed about the movie’s plot, but it is due to be released sometime in 2019.
Source: Deadline