It turns out Sonic the Hedgehog's redesign is actually very similar to how the VFX team originally envisioned the character. Sonic the Hedgehog is racing into theaters in a few months, and today received a new trailer showing the character's redesign.
It seems like ages since Paramount released the original trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog, back when the film was scheduled for a November release. The footage received an overwhelmingly negative response from fans. Chief among the criticisms was Sonic's design. Gone were the iconic gloves and eye design. Instead, the character received odd proportions and generic shoes. In an unprecedented move, director Jeff Fowler announced Sonic would be getting redesigned because of fan feedback. Finally, the new trailer has arrived, and fans are praising Sonic's updated look. Producer Tim Miller said fans would be happy with the redesign, and that appears to be the case. What may be surprising is a design closer matching the games was originally what the VFX artists came up with.
On Twitter, Stu Whitten, a VFX Artist for Sonic the Hedgehog, responded to a fan about the character's redesign. According to the artist, the redesign was actually "pretty much" what the team came up with originally. His tweet states, "Pretty much just went back to our original design lol."
Update: The original tweet has been deleted by Whitten.
Based on Whitten's statement, it appears the VFX team came up with the game-accurate design for Sonic early in development before the other design came into being. Why the VFX team's original design wasn't chosen by the production team to begin with is anyone's guess. Perhaps the thought was to have something distinct from the games for the non-gaming audience. But, what matters now is that the updated design is almost completely identical to the games.
It's fascinating seeing how reception of an upcoming film can turn from overwhelmingly negative to positive. Although Paramount has since removed the original trailer, the dislikes on the video far exceeded the likes. For the new trailer, it has over 400,000 more likes than dislikes, a good indicator that the film is receiving much more positive attention. Twitter is also currently being flooded with appreciation posts on accurately capturing the iconic speedy character. However, it's still up in the air how well the film will do financially and critically. The new trailer did little to alleviate concerns of mediocre humor, and for some, Sonic may come across as a little overbearing. Will Sonic the Hedgehog continue the more positive video game movie trend set by Detective Pikachu? Time will tell.
Source: Stu Whitten
