Sonic the Hedgehog is being redesigned for upcoming film after fan backlash

After days of backlash from entitled fans and social media hangers-on, the director of the forthcoming Sonic the Hedgehog live action has taken to Twitter claiming that changes are coming to the beloved character.

Things kicked off across Twitter with the launch of the first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog. We’ve put it below, and while I’m not endorsing fans complaining about something until the original creators back down, you can kinda see what they’re getting at. He does look a little weird.

In a tweet, director Jeff Fowler said: “Thank you for the support. And the criticism. The message is loud and clear… you aren’t happy with the design & you want changes. It’s going to happen. Everyone at Paramount & Sega are fully committed to making this character the BEST he can be” ending it with the hashtag #gottafixfast.

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Whether this means we’ll see a delay on the planned November 2019 theatre date isn’t yet clear, but considering the lengthy time required for high quality CGI, this is almost certainly going to be a headache for the animators working on the film.

So, what’s wrong with Sonic? Most people seem to comment on his eyes, which are very different to the version seen in games, cartoons and comic books before now, and also his teeth, which are admittedly a little creepy.

The film has some talent attached. Jim Carrey stars as the original Eggman himself, Dr. Robotnik. James Marsden and Tika Sumpter also star in the movie. Whether a fresh new look can appease fans will likely depend on how Sonic turns out, after his makeover.

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In the meantime, there’s likely going to be some serious crunch as a result, with several sources we have spoken to suggesting that the animators will need to produce new character models, new rigs and new animations as part of the work.