Paramount+ Shows Its 'Knuckles' With Series Trailer And Premiere Date

The 6-episode ‘Sonic the Hedgehog' spinoff (with Sonic!) premieres on Paramount+ in April

Move over Ted, there’s a new CG character starring event streaming series spun off from a movie! Paramount+’s Knuckles series, starring the beloved echidna from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise voiced by Idris Elba in this realm of it, has dropped its official trailer. It’s also revealed that all six episodes of the series will be released at once on Friday, April 26, exclusively on Paramount+ in the United States and Canada, while Latin America, Australia, South Korea, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria get it the next day, April 27, while Japan will later on. The series will not be on Paramount+ everywhere, instead on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Spain and Central and Eastern Europe.

With this series taking place between his 2022 debut in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and this December’s third film, the trailer opens with Wade Whipple, played once again by Adam Pally, catching audiences up on who Knuckles is as they’re out for a drive. He likes vengeance for fun! And as it turns out Sonic does appear in the series, which makes sense if he (and Tails!) too has basically been adopted by Tom and Maddie Wachowski, the latter of whom is played once again by Tika Sumpter, and will not allow the living room to be used for gladiator fights. Sonic and Tails are voiced by their voice actors from the films, Ben Schwartz and Colleen O’Shaughnessey. It is admittedly quite cool that they’re both back and not being written around, even if Tom (James Marsden) is. But from the sound of it, don’t be surprised if his “hilarious and action-packed journey of self-discovery” and taking Wade as his protégé, teaching him the ways of the Echidna warrior is his having something to occupy his time. Instead of say, transforming the house to his comfort to pit the dog against the mailman. He even has a motorcycle to go with his beloved brown cowboy hat.

An associate of Robotnik’s has several vials of echidna quills that he powers his tech with, as showcased by his cronies in a bowling alley confrontation mirroring Knuckles’s first with Sonic. Every hero has a genesis, but only one hero hits this hard. At the very least a reference Pachacamac, the chief and warlord of the Knuckles Clan and father of Tikal, a character not yet introduced in this continuity makes a brief appearance, in what some speculate to be either a disguise or a dream sequence.

The event series cast also includes Cary Elwes as Wade’s dad "Pistol" Pete Whipple, as well as Kid Cudi, Stockard Channing, Edi Patterson, Ellie Taylor, Julian Barratt, Rory McCann, and Christopher Lloyd. Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel will be playing anchors for ESPN 8: The Ocho. Jeff Fowler, director of both films so far, directs the pilot and serves as an executive producer. John Whittington, who worked on the screenplay for the second film, is credited as co-creator with showrunner Toby Ascher, from Original Film who also executive produces. Whittington also wrote the pilot and serves as head writer and executive producer. Brian Schacter and James Madejski are also writing for the series. Several members of the films' creative team, Neal H. Moritz also comes from Original Film to executive produce with Toru Nakahara. Jorma Taccone, Ged Wright, Brandon Trost, and Carol Banker are also directing episodes. Paramount Pictures and Sega of America produce as they do the film.

A subsequent TV spot for the series separate from this will be shared between the CBS and Nickelodeon broadcasts of Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday. However, Knuckles, Sonic and Tails will also be making a surprise appearance during the latter’s game broadcast. Hopefully they’re at Allegiant Stadium rather than Bikini Bottom so the broadcast doesn’t contradict Sonic’s inability to swim. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has become Paramount+’s top-performing Kids & Family film in reach and one of the service’s most rewatched films. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be released in theaters on December 20, 2024. Welcome to the year of Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

Sources: Paramount Press Express, IGN