X star Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi, and Edi Patterson from Knives Out and The Righteous Gemstones have joined the cast of Knuckles, the new live-action series led by Idris Elba that is based on the tough-talking echidna from the Sonic the Hedgehog universe.
Elba voices the title character and he will be joined by Adam Pally, who will reprise his live-action role as Wade Whipple from the film franchise. Tika Sumpter will also return for the show, though she’ll be a guest star, as will Rory McCann (Game of Thrones). The rest of the cast includes Julian Barratt (Mindhorn) and Ellie Taylor (Ted Lasso), and additional actors will be announced soon.
Knuckles hails from Paramount Pictures, SEGA of America, and Paramount+, and it is being made exclusively for the streaming service. The series will follow Knuckles on a hilarious and action-packed journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train Wade as his protégé and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior. It’s a smart bet by Paramount, for which the Sonic franchise has been a solid performer.
The series will take place between the films Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which Paramount will release in theaters on Dec. 20, 2024. Production on Knuckles is currently underway in London.
All of the key creative team from the previous Sonic films are returning for the series, including Jeff Fowler, the director of both movies, who is also directing the pilot episode, as well as Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, John Whittington and Toru Nakahara, who serve as executive producers on the series alongside Elba. Additional directors for the series include Ged Wright, Brandon Trost, Jorma Taccone, and Carol Banker.
Whittington, who wrote on Sonic the Hedgehog 2, wrote the pilot and is the head writer for the series. The other writers for the series include Brian Schacter and James Madejski.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 earned more than $400 million worldwide, and it is one of the most rewatched films on Paramount+ in addition to being the top-performing Kids & Family film on the service.
