Jim Carrey Isn't Sure How to Feel About Sonic the Hedgehog Redesign Following Fan Backlash
Months after Sonic the Hedgehog director announced the film will be pushed back for a redesign, star Jim Carrey is speaking out about the fan backlash that triggered it.
“I don’t know quite how I feel about the audience being in on the creation of it. We’ll see what that entails because sometimes you find that the collective consciousness decides it wants something and then when it gets it, ‘I just wanted it, I didn’t care about it. I just jumped on the bandwagon,'” Carrey said at the Television Critics Association presentation for his Showtime series Kidding, according to Gamespot.
“Ownership of anything is going out the window for all of us,” he added.
Fans were particularly upset about Sonic’s teeth as seen in the trailer that sparked backlash, Vulture reported. As of right now, the electric blue hedgehog was given human-like teeth—something fans felt was unrealistic. Another qualm with the new design were his legs. In the original cartoon, Sonic’s legs are thin whereas in the new movie they appear much more shapely and human-like.
Executive producer Tim Miller recently spoke to Variety about the change, where he gave insight into his thought process following the poor response to the trailer.
“Look, I was with fans and so was Jeff,” Miller recalls. “When the s–t hit the fan, I went over there and said, ‘The most important thing to do, man, is say, ‘I f–ked up.’ He’d already sent a tweet out an hour before I got there. He’s a good man. It was exactly the right way to handle that. The fans have a voice in this too. There’s a right way to listen.”
Miller also said he’s seen the redesign and thinks “the fans will be pleased.”
In April, director Jeff Fowler confirmed “design changes” were being made to Sonic after fans blasted the preview.
“Thank you for the support. And the criticism. The message is loud and clear,” Fowler wrote on Twitter. “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… #sonicmovie#gottafixfast.”
In this new adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog, the famous character joins forces with a new human friend, played by James Marsden, to bring down Carrey’s villainous character who wants to use Sonic’s power to take over the world.
It now opens on Valentine’s Day, 2020.
