The hugely popular Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is known and occasionally loved for its mountain of characters, some of whom get less attention than others. But, as with every massive ensemble cast, any character will inevitably be some fan's favorite character.
The trailers for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 have a lot of exciting and intriguing detail that has kept fans excited. Those who keep an eye on the fan reaction might have noticed that attention has been tilted towards one particular character. Idris Elba's take on Knuckles the Echidna is already taking the world by storm with less than a minute of known screen time.
Knuckles the Echidna was created by Takashi Yuda in 1994 for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In that game, much like in the new film, Knuckles was introduced as a secondary antagonist, tricked by Eggman to fight Sonic. Immediately thereafter, the expansion pack Sonic & Knuckles made the echidna a playable character. Knuckles is consistently the third or fourth most important character in the Sonic franchise, always teamed up with the protagonist and friends as they face the newest challenge. He's a fan favorite and the highlight of some works in the franchise. Travis Willingham's take on the character makes the Sonic Boom animated series great. He's Sonic's best friend and rival who always serves as the slow-witted but good-natured muscle of the team. And in 1995, he had his first and only solo game.
Knuckles' Chaotix was the intensely unpopular follow-up to Sonic & Knuckles that gave the echidna a team of pals and his own adventure. Gameplay was very similar to a classic Sonic game, with the bizarre added idea of tethering the player to their partner. Much like Sonic had Tails, Knuckles had four allies who followed his every move and used unique abilities to blaze through levels.
As was typical of the franchise, Knuckles and friends fought Dr. Robotnik to save an island from his destructive whims. With five playable characters, the game expanded on the growing roster with a variety of new gameplay ideas. The game wasn't actually developed by the usual Sonic Team but was instead created by a different group of internal Sega creatives. Despite this, it was considered the last game in the original franchise before Sonic switched to 3D. Sonic fans have routinely requested a full remake, but their particular tastes are inscrutable. Though this game isn't exactly a classic, it could provide the bones for a future film.
Knuckles has always been a fan-favorite character, making it somewhat surprising that Sega hasn't tried another solo outing for the character. His brief appearance in the trailers for the film has caused a massive outpouring of excitement from fans. In this realm of franchise media, something as powerful as the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise would be leaving money on the table if they didn't expand on fan-favorite characters. Knuckles is typically a side character in the Sonic story, but he has the power to carry a franchise of his own. And, if the filmmakers use the baseline provided by Knuckles' Chaotix, the echidna wouldn't have to carry the burden all on his own.
Knuckles' first solo outing introduced the Chaotix, four colorful animals with unique personalities and powers. Espio the Chameleon is a disciplined ninja capable of acrobatic feats and invisibility. Vector the Crocodile is a good-natured, but musclebound creature who is the most enthusiastic team member. Charmy the Bee is a kid who is capable of flight and often underestimated. Finally, Mighty the Armadillo is a strong-hearted warrior with a penchant for travel.
The Chaotix team has played an extremely minor role throughout the following decades of Sonic canon. Aside from the game that introduced them, the Chaotix reappeared sans Mighty as one of the four teams in 2003's Sonic Heroes. That game recontextualized the trio as a detective agency that uses the team's unique skill-set to solve mysteries for hire. The trio reappeared separately from time to time, but the underused idea of a detective agency in the Sonic universe could be very interesting.
Knuckles and the Chaotix could be a fascinating side project of the Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise. The idea of a variety of Sonic film series under the larger franchise umbrella would both mirror the game franchise and give fans tons of stories they could never imagine on the big screen. Not every concept or character is fit for a film of their own, of course, but Knuckles and his animal detective friends would be the makings of a Guardians of the Galaxy-esque runaway hit. Fans clearly want more Sonic films, and it would be a waste of fun ideas not to delve into the ever-expanding universe of colorful creatures and bizarre concepts. Knuckles' Chaotix wasn't the best game in the franchise, but it could provide the bones for a fascinating film.