Sega’s iconic blue hedgehog is headed for the big screen, courtesy of Sony and producer Neal Moritz.
 
Sony is teaming with Marza Animation Planet, a Japanese-based division of the Sega Sammy Group, to produce an animated/live-action hybrid feature.  Evan Susser and Van Robinchaux, alums of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles, will pen the screenplay.  Moritz, producer on the Fast & Furious franchise among others, will share producer duties with Marza’s Takeshi Ito and Mie Onishi. Toby Ascher will executive produce.
 
Moritz is involved in projects involving a number of other geek properties, including Valiant’s Bloodshot (see "Here Comes the 'Bloodshot' Movie"), Doc Savage (also at Sony, see "Black Returns to 'Doc Savage'"), and Preacher on AMC ("'Preacher' Gets Pilot Order").
 
Sonic is also scheduled for a small-screen reboot, with plans for the Sonic Boom animated series on Cartoon Network this fall (see "'Sonic Boom' Animated Series") as well as new video games for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and a new toy line.
 
For more than twenty years, Sonic the Hedgehog has been one of the world’s most recognized gaming icons, with more than 70 video games, four animated series, and an extensive library of products including the world’s longest running comic book series based on a video game.  (The Archie Comics series was recognized as such by Guinness World Records in 2008, and the series is still going!)  The property is a perennial property on ICv2’s Top Kid’s & Tweens Graphic Novel list (see "Top 10 Kids & Tweens Graphic Novel Properties--Fall/Holidays 2013").