In a piece of casting news, almost no one predicted Idris Elba has joined the cast of video game adaptation Sonic The Hedgehog 2, where he will be voicing the character Knuckles.
The British actor, 48, confirmed the news by sharing a picture of the anthropomorphic spiny echidna’s trademark spiked fist. “Knock, knock….” Elba wrote on Twitter.
Knock, knock....#SonicMovie2 #Knuckles pic.twitter.com/N1PW5XaCEd
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) August 10, 2021
Knuckles has similar powers to Sonic but also has the ability to glide and climb walls with his knuckles. He has been both a friend and foe of Sonic.
It remains to be seen what role Knuckles will have in the sequel of the kids film but there is no doubt that this piece of news took people by surprise and even spawned a few jokes.
NONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND HOW UNREASONABLY DELIGHTED THIS MAKES ME, I AM THRILLED— https://t.co/cVm9YelBwD
— 🍄 Kaden/Elias 🍄 (@FateBoundKnight) August 10, 2021
.@idriselba really said premium roles only https://t.co/EKrun2YJXn pic.twitter.com/4VhrO3epJj
— 𝘨 𝘶 𝘺 (@GuyTweetsALot) August 10, 2021
https://t.co/CPn1JbPPpg pic.twitter.com/grnlaGZs0Z
— little cat wearing a little backpack (@SophLouiseHall) August 10, 2021
after all these years it’s finally settled, Knuckles is black https://t.co/xt78dQ0Q0u
— Corn 𖤐 (@snuurid) August 10, 2021
Did not have this on my 2021 BINGO card and, honestly, that’s my bad. https://t.co/5aUrbLoadP
— Emma Fyffe (@EmmaFyffe) August 10, 2021
British Knuckles bout to be WILD! 🇬🇧 https://t.co/Lvs3AAVKoy
— J.D. (@jdwitherspoon) August 10, 2021
Can I mentioned how wild it is people are excited for a Sonic movie? Remember the fear for the first one and then they nailed it? Who woulda thought the SONIC movie would THAT video game movie. https://t.co/gEegIcBlTx
— Sky Flores (@SkywardWing) August 11, 2021
🎶 "Here I come, rougher than the rest of them
— Solartron - Destron warrior (@Solar_Transform) August 10, 2021
The best of them, tougher than leather
You can call me Knuckles, unlike Sonic I don't chuckle" 🎶
Cant wait to see Knuckles now! https://t.co/SOE1phMdAK
idris elba just got cast as knuckles in the new sonic movie and I have no self control pic.twitter.com/iM5ZXrgaaE
— manny (@mannyfidel) August 10, 2021
Idris Elba rules.
— King Shark Fan (@MichelsTristan) August 10, 2021
That's the tweet. pic.twitter.com/Gj5MlE7pHc
i'm so sorry @idriselba pic.twitter.com/1oPYRBOwQT
— manny (@mannyfidel) August 10, 2021
Idris Elba, this morning pic.twitter.com/FFMoYaMKUn
— Svend (@Dreadknux) August 11, 2021
So @idriselba is #Knuckles in #SonicMovie2 I had too Animate this. pic.twitter.com/XMU9wuA9gO
— SuperStaticPro (@SuperStaticPro) August 10, 2021
Idris Elba is in so many franchises, won’t be surprised if he time travels to go back and join Harry Potter
— BD (@BrandonDavisBD) August 10, 2021
Many also pointed out that Elba was long rumoured to be the next James Bond but is now in playing Knuckles in a Sonic movie - and they are kind of cool with that.
Could have been James Bond but he chose the Knuckles life instead
— Svend (@Dreadknux) August 10, 2021
Idris Elba is a hero
broke: idris elba as james bond
— Sentinel Draggles (@draggles) August 10, 2021
woke: idris elba as knuckles https://t.co/1mJ6b0uM21
The world: Idris Elba should be the next James Bond!
— 💵 Gray For Pay 💰 (@graydiel) August 10, 2021
Idris Elba: https://t.co/E00exSyFlY
“Idris Elba would be a perfect James Bond!” https://t.co/KQA5Tt4eLI pic.twitter.com/9sYFFYc75m
— boggs (@McBoggz) August 10, 2021
Some also want Christian Bale to be cast as Shadow, an anti-hero from the Sonic universe.
If Idris Elba is playing Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog, then I want to see Christian Bale play SHADOW pic.twitter.com/PNgsQIYAVc
— BLURAYANGEL (@blurayangel) August 10, 2021
Yuji Naka, the lead programmer on the original Sega Sonic series also shared the news by simply tweeting a fist emoji and ‘Knuckles.’
👊🏾Knuckles https://t.co/kECO6bz7tv
— Yuji Naka / 中 裕司 (@nakayuji) August 11, 2021
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is a sequel to the 2020 original – which was a box office hit shortly before the pandemic struck, grossing 320 million US dollars (£231 million) worldwide.
The sequel will see the return of Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog, Jim Carrey as the villainous Dr Robotnik and James Marsden as sheriff Tom Wachowski.
The Wire and Luther actor Elba, who recently starred in the superhero film The Suicide Squad, is no stranger to lending his voice to animated properties. He has voiced characters in Zootopia, Finding Dory and The Jungle Book.
Knuckles first appeared in the video game Sonic The Hedgehog 3 in 1994 and quickly became a fan favourite in the franchise and has appeared in numerous games since.
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is set for release in April 2022.
