Sonic the Hedgehog is slowing down, Sonic 4 crawling to theaters in 2027

Sonic is taking five. Well, three. Per Variety, Sonic The Hedgehog 4 is in development for 2027 release.

The third entry in the Sonic saga hits theaters tomorrow, with a sterling review from The A.V. Club and a post-credits sequence teasing more Green Hill denizens breaking free of their Prison Eggs and years of fan art featuring them with a very pregnant Sonic the Hedgehog. Fingers crossed that Rouge The Bat and Amy Rose finally enter the fray in the next movie. Emmy-, Golden Globe-, and Tony-winning actor Sarah Paulson previously threw her hat into the Rouge ring. “Nobody has called me about playing Rouge the Bat,” she told Comic Book, “but I would like them to.” It would behoove Paramount to call her because Sarah Paulson must play Rouge. We can’t think of a role better for one of the best actors working today than Rouge the Bat.

Appropriately speedy like its namesake, the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise first whizzed into theaters in 2020. What could’ve been a forgotten blockbuster from the before times turned out to be one of Paramount’s more lucrative tentpoles of the last few years. It shows how much things can change in a short time. Four years later, there are three Sonic movies, two Robotniks, and a Knuckles TV series, an impressive output for the chili-dog-loving erinaceidae that began his moment in the spotlight with some really ugly teeth. It shows how much a good pair of veneers can change things.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 opens tomorrow.