'Sonic the Hedgehog Movie' Planned With Sony as Animation & Live Action Hybrid

Classic video game character Sonic the Hedgehog is turning 25 this year, and that means Sega's about to do some major celebration: they're partnering up with Sony Pictures for a movie about Sonic. Plans for a live-action/CGI animation hybrid about Sonic have just been unveiled, but the territory of films that join cartoons and humans is kind of flaky.

Hajime Satomi, Sega's CEO, recently spoke to The World Folio about the new plans for Sonic's big-screen début, announcing that there were plans for a 2018 film.

"Sega Sammy Group is currently planning with Sony Pictures to create a live-action and animation hybrid Sonic the Hedgehog movie scheduled for release in 2018," said Satomi. "Like with this CG animation production, we would like to expand our business into other entertainment areas beyond what we are currently involved."

Back in 2012, Sonic had a cameo on Disney Animation's Wreck-It-Ralph, a film dedicated to gaming culture throughout the ages. These days, Sonic is a character mostly known by nostalgic fans, but at the peak of its fame, there was an animated series as well as a movie (only released overseas), and the past couple of years have seen a resurgence with a computer-animated series.

The territory of animation/live-action mixes is something of a fluke. While there have been successful films in that genre (most notably the 80's classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit?), others haven't fared as well, including the critically panned Smurfs movies.

As Wired UK reports, even though Sega hasn't been among the biggest console-driven gaming companies in many years, it's still strong in the industry with their work in "games development, licensing, and wider entertainment investments."

The company's planning to expand their brand further to reach younger audiences and not depend solely on the nostalgia factor, and Satomi has said they're more than willing to "change, adjust or shift" their current product to make it more interesting -- and that includes bringing Sonic back for his first big movie.