Sonic The Hedgehog movie: Live action and animated feature in the works for 2018

Sega and Sony Pictures are working on bringing Sonic The Hedgehog to the big screen, with Sega Sammy Holdings CEO Hajime Satomi confirming plans for a movie that will blend live action and animation. The company hopes to find new popularity for the character in new areas of entertainment.

Speaking to The World Folio, Satomi said: "Sega Sammy Group is currently planning with Sony Pictures to create a live-action and animation hybrid Sonic the Hedgehog movie scheduled for release in 2018. Like with this CG animation production, we would like to expand our business into other entertainment areas beyond what we are currently involved."

The Sonic series has been on an uncertain spot for years now, following the release of numerous critically-panned games. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric was the last Sonic game released, based on the recent TV series, but it was critically panned. At this point, only nostalgia, tenacity and a large amount of hope on the part of fans continues to keep the series alive.

If nothing else, making a movie based on the character shows how dedicated Sega is to reinvigorating the series, and teaming with Sony Pictures is certainly a good start. With no official announcement however there are no exact details on the production yet.

The decision to make it an animation/live-action hybrid is certainly interesting as well, bringing to mind films like Mary Poppins, Space Jam, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and... erm... Looney Tunes: Back In Action.

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