First Look At Knuckles In Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Has The Internet Freaking Out

The first "Sonic the Hedgehog" movie that combined live-action footage with 3D animation could have been a pretty impressive disaster thanks to the kerfuffle over the beloved Sega mascot's initial look. Fortunately, after the movie was delayed to fix Sonic's design, audiences fell in love with the lightning-quick hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz) and his nemesis, the deranged Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey in fine manic mode). The film has a very respectable 93 percent audience approval score on Rotten Tomatoes, and with its worldwide gross of $319 million against a $85 million budget, it was a nice commercial success as well (via Box Office Mojo).

As such, a sequel was always virtually a given, especially since the post-credits scene in "Sonic the Hedgehog" teases the arrival of the blue speedster's frequent sidekick: the flying two-tailed fox Miles "Tails" Prower. And now, it looks like he's not the only one of Sonic's sizable supporting cast to show up in the sequel, either. A first look at popular Sonic ally Knuckles the Echidna in "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" has now emerged online, and the internet is freaking out about it.

On the evening of April 20, 2021 Twitter account @TailsChannel posted a pair of what appear to be paparazzi photos from the set of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2," with the caption: "Here's a look at the #SonicMovie2 filming at Fort Langley today. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles props were seen; Marsden and Sumpter present as well. #SonicNews." 

One of the photos shows stars James Marsden (who plays Tom Wachowski) and Tika Sumpter (Maddie Wachowski) running amidst smoke and destruction. However, it's the photo featuring Knuckles that has captured fans' attention. In the image, a prop guy is setting up full-sized prop figures of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. This first look at the red echidna shows that his look is a slightly toned-down version of his hulking Sonic Boom incarnation (pictured above) — though apart from his gloves, shoes and face, his design seems to eschew the white chest highlight and the bandages in favor of a simpler, all-red body. He's also nearly a full head taller than Sonic, though still significantly smaller than an adult human.

Thanks to the teething problems with Sonic's design, fans are naturally paying careful attention to this particular movie franchise's characters — and it looks like they're absolutely loving Knuckles' look. 

"I'M FREAKING OUT KNUCKLES LOOKS SO GOOD," Twitter user @daregularsauce wrote. "YOOOOOOOO KNUCKLES DESIGN LOOKING AWESOME," @saltydkdan wrote. "Can't wait to see the CG oh my god." Elsewhere, user @sonicsta_ also seemed pretty happy with the reveal: "KNUCKLES LOOKS SO COOL. THEY ALL LOOK AWESOME." 

While others avoided taking the all-caps approach to the subject, the general consensus seems to be that Knuckles looks just amazing, and fans are waiting with bated breath to see how he looks in action. Now that's good character design.

"Sonic the Hedgehog 2" is scheduled to hit theaters on April 8, 2022.