Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marza Animation Planet, a CG animation film production company of the SEGA SAMMY Group, today announced a partnership to develop a film based on the acclaimed Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. A hybrid CG-animated/live-action feature, the movie will be written by Evan Susser and Van Robichaux and produced by Neal H. Moritz through his Original Film banner, along with Marza’s Takeshi Ito and Mie Onishi. Toby Ascher will serve as an executive producer.
The film will look to capture Sonic’s irreverent tone and spirit, reuniting him with some of the most revered and infamous characters of the franchise, including the evil Dr. Eggman. Playful, mischievous, and quick on his feet in more ways than one, the world’s fastest hedgehog is known for his ability to move at supersonic speed to protect his friends from their enemies. For more than two decades, Sonic has been one of the world’s biggest gaming icons and a $1 billion franchise with more than 140 million games sold.
Commenting on the announcement, Hannah Minghella, Columbia Pictures’ president of Production said, “There are limitless stories to tell with a character like Sonic the Hedgehog, and a built-in international fan base. Along with our wonderful creative partners at Marza, we’re looking to capture everything that generations of fans know and love about Sonic while also growing his audience wider than ever before.”
Marza Animation Planet CEO Masanao Maeda added, “Sonic has had dozens of adventures on the console and the small screen, and we’re thrilled that he’s now coming to the big screen. Sony Pictures has had great success with hybrid animated and live-action features, and we’re confident that this collaboration will bring a fresh take to Sonic, while still capturing everything that the fans love about him.”
Marza is a leading CG animation production company with the vision to create films to the global market from Japan, by combining global storytelling and Japanese creativity. It plans to release one feature-length film each year.
Hannah Minghella and Andrea Giannetti will oversee for Sony Pictures Entertainment.
