Knuckles spin-off finds its cast and a cowboy hat for the echidna

The cast for the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off series all about Knuckles has been revealed, bringing back some familiar faces and a fan favourite hat.

As reported by Variety, the live-action Knuckles series has now been fully cast outside of Idris Elba returning as the titular character. Joining Elba is Adam Pally, who is also reprising his role as Wade Whipple, the inept deputy cop in Green Hill, from the first two Sonic films. There's also a bit more story information for the Knuckles show, as it apparently takes place between Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (set to release December 20, 2024). Knuckles has apparently agreed "to train Wade as his protégé and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior."

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As well as Pally, the cast also includes Edi Patterson (Knives Out), Julian Barrat (The Mighty Boosh), Ellie Taylor (Ted Lasso), and Scott Mescudi, also known as Kid Cudi, who performed the main theme of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. They will all have recurring roles in the series, with Game of Throne's Rory McCann, and Tika Sumpter (who played Maddie in the second Sonic film) making guest appearances. More casting is planned to be announced at a later date - presumably Sonic and Tails will be making an appearance somewhere along the way, but their respective actors (Ben Schwartz and Colleen O'Shaughnessey) weren't mentioned in the cast list.

Production has started now too, with Sonic 2 scriptwriter John Whittington serving as head writer and executive producer, and the film's director Jeff Fowler directing the pilot and also executive producing.

Perhaps most importantly of all, is that the tweet announcing production has started from the official Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account shows a hat that might look familiar to the more involved Sonic fan - to be specific, a cowboy hat that Knuckles first wore in the 1999 animated film Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie. I just don't care if the show is good or not, I will always gladly welcome cowboy Knuckles with open arms.

A release date for the Knuckles show hasn't been set yet, but it's set to air on Paramount+.