The Super Bowl is one of America's most treasured institutions, and for good reason. Not only does it show off some of the most prominent musical talent of the day every year, but it also serves as a focal point for the most ambitious commercials to air on television, helpfully symbolizing the country's worrisome love of capitalism. Oh yeah, and apparently there's a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 spot.
Super Bowl commercials and trailers tend to be of high production value and just no-holds-barred displays of what any given advertising agency can do. So it's no surprise that most of the companies taking part in this financially imposing tradition want to keep their ads under wraps until the big game. But sometimes, they can get a little antsy. Looks like that may be the case with the new Sonic the Hedgehog 2 TV spot, which Paramount just dropped a little early. But hey, who's complaining?
The ad starts with a bit tailor-made for the Super Bowl itself, depicting the traditional American football coin toss to decide possession. Naturally, being a Sonic-related property, it just can't resist an obvious pun, revealing a familiar two-tailed fox as the coin slowly flips over to the tails side. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all rush onto the screen, and then the full proper ad begins. Looks like there's some new footage in there this time.
Notably, this particular TV spot includes some new dialogue from Knuckles the Echidna, played by Idris Elba. He's starting to feel like the Bane of this movie, because one would be hard-pressed to place the character's accent even after seeing all the trailers so far. Knuckles is also seen chasing Sonic (Ben Schwartz) on a snowboard, because why not at this point? Not one to pass up a timely reference that definitely won't immediately show its age, Sonic quips "Oh great, the Winter Soldier."
Later, Knuckles can be seen standing beside Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) as a lake appears to drain, revealing what looks like an ancient ruin. Perhaps this will tie into Knuckles himself, based on similar locations in the various Sonic games related to the character and his people. This seems all the more likely as Sonic and Knuckles clash over an impressive-looking pyramid, which holds a green Chaos Emerald.
The rest of the trailer is a mix of new and old footage, showing off returning characters like Sonic's human buddy Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) as well as newcomers like the previously mentioned Miles "Tails" Prower (played by his voice actress from the games Colleen O'Shaughnessey). Overall, it's a nice little tease of what's to come for the next Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Enjoy the big commercial extravaganza interspersed with the occasional bit of football.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will release in theaters on April 8th, 2022.
Source: Paramount Pictures/YouTube