Before anything is officially announced about those movies, what do I think should happen and what would I do if I were given the keys to the kingdom and creative control?
Welcome to the first edition of FANBOYS FOLLOW-UP—a segment where I take a film or TV show and expand on where I'd like to see the story go from there. I've wanted to do this many times over the years with things like Kick-Ass 3, Incredibles 3, dating all the way back to one of the first posts on this site with my Ghostbusters III idea. Now, it's officially kicking off with this, because...well...why not?
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
We already know we're getting Tails as the end of the last film showed the little guy. It was a necessity. To make a sequel and not include him would be insane.
The last film ended with Robotnik stranded off-world and Sonic comfortable in his new home in the attic of the Wachowski's. We can't completely ignore the relationship between Sonic and The Donut Lord, Tom, nor push Maddie out of the way or anything like that. They need to do something, and there should be something that gets in the way of Sonic's friendship with Tom. That's what sequels pretty much always do.
Here's my quick pitch, as we don't need to flesh out all the little details:
The government was lenient on everyone, but they're still keeping tabs. They notice that something is happening across the planet that seems extremely reminiscent of Sonic's powers. Banks and technological facilities are being robbed in a split second and there's nothing but a blue streak of energy that they catch on camera. Who else are they going to blame but him? Crazy Carl agrees.
Tom goes to bat for Sonic, that he wouldn't be responsible, but the evidence mounts. Meanwhile, there's been tension brewing because Tails has come from Mobius trying to track him down because things have gotten bad and they could use his help. Creatures from that world are being converted into robots that are taking over. It's definitely Robotnik's fault, as these Badniks need to be stopped.
Immediately, there's a great partnership between Sonic and Tails, which makes Tom jealous. He doesn't really know what those two are up to, which makes him suspicious that Sonic is being a rebellious teenager and actually causing these crimes. But hey, Tom's not Sonic's father, so that creates even more tension. Plus, Maddie is pressuring Tom to have a baby and Sonic feels like he's being cast aside.
Then, they get seemingly full-proof evidence that it's Sonic causing these crimes when video surveillance footage manages to capture a picture of him and it has his shape, size, etc.
Who is the real culprit, though? Well, of course, it's Robotnik. I mean, he's the bad guy and all. But in particular, it's Mecha Sonic (aka Metal Sonic—I know they're all supposed to be different, but they shouldn't be, just like how Mega Man and X should be the same robot with some advancements and not entirely different characters). He should appear in Mark I form (Silver Sonic) but eventually, the blue armor and everything in future tweaks is more than enough to fool everyone.
Mecha Sonic is extremely powerful and able to match Sonic's speed, if not surpass it. That's the biggest physical fight of the whole thing, but there are also Badniks and normal drones that Robotnik pilots. That gives Tails something to do (disable the tech that controls the Badniks) and Tom something to do (fight off the drones) in the final battle.
It ends with Sonic being exonerated, Maddie having her child, Tom and Sonic have reconciled, Sonic has a friend in Tails that is closer to his own kind, they can travel between worlds easier through whatever means Robotnik found his way back, and all is well again.
That is...of course, until the tease at the end. The Knuckles Clan or Echnida Tribe or whatever you want to call them is attacked by another variation of Mecha Sonic and consult their prophecy about how they'd inevitably deal with the blue menace. Their cave paintings or scripture or whatever make it seem like Sonic is destined to destroy them through the Chaos Emeralds, and they won't let that happen.
Bonus points for how this is the #2 film and a ton of things revolve around the concept of two. There are two Sonics (real and robot). Tails has two tails. There are two heroes now from the other world (Sonic and Tails) as well as two villains in this story (Robotnik and Mecha Sonic). A wedge between Sonic/Tails and Tom/Maddie that is eventually patched up with their kid. So on and so forth.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3: Triple Trouble
As said, this film revolves around the Chaos Emeralds. There's a flashback to when Sonic was a child and that whole attack from the first film that had the echidnas hunting him. Their prophecy isn't clarified yet, as they've interpreted it as basically "Sonic will bring the end of Mobius through the Chaos Emeralds." Remember how in the games, there are those hieroglyphics that play into this idea? I'm copying that.
Robotnik sent Mecha Sonic to frame him again, so they think this is happening now. He offers to help them kill Sonic if he allows them access to the Chaos Emeralds. Since he's proven himself an ally so far and he's a genius from another world, they trust him and his new sidekick, a little purple wolf-like guy named Nack the Weasel (aka Fang the Sniper).
The head of the tribe is Knuckles. You know him. I don't need to go into who he is, and you know where this is going, too.
Admittedly, I'm not entirely sure what I'd do with the Tom and Maddie portion of this story yet, but I didn't want to sleep on this article any longer. Maybe in time, I'll edit this section with an update. But I do know I want Sonic and Tails to be bros and for the baby Wachowski to be something they watch over and for the kid to be in danger at some point in the movie, as well as some kind of tie-in to Chao.
Then, Sonic and Knuckles basically plays out the way you'd expect it. Knuckles is naive enough to trust Robotnik and acts as a primary antagonist along with Nack, who is more of a pest for Tails to deal with. We've got our Badniks in some fashion and possibly Mecha Sonic is back, but just not as featured. I'd rather have an alternative to that, but I don't think it's smart to throw out Shadow or something and I can't think of another enemy worth putting in the mix.
Robotnik uses the Master Emerald and unlocks Perfect Chaos, which is the real prophecy meaning: Sonic is the one to help stop the destruction, not the one who brings it. Knuckles realizes that mistake and joins the team, giving us Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Tom against Robotnik, Nack, the standard drones and the big bad threat of Perfect Chaos.
Sonic has to go Super Sonic to defeat it. He obviously does, because this is a film for kids and not something dark and depressing that ends in the world's destruction or something. Now that Sonic has proven himself totally not the problem, he's more than welcome to hang out on Angel Island and all throughout Mobius and Earth however he pleases.
Unfortunately, there's no natural way for me to figure out how to cram in more characters like Rouge and Cream, but maybe...just maybe...somewhere in there, you could add Amy Rose. If not, and if these movies do well enough that you can make a fourth, have a plot point be that Amy Rose is Sonic's girlfriend and that changes the dynamics of the group. You can have Rouge/Knuckles and Cream/Tails as the other couples and really market that toward the girls in the audience, too. But hey, I'm sticking with Sonic 2 and 3 at this point, and it's better not to get too far ahead of the game...I mean, movie...I mean, game-inspired movie.
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