Jim Carrey Reportedly In Talks To Play Dr. Eggman In 2019's Sonic The Hedgehog Film

TheGamer

By Daniel Alvarez

Published Jul 1, 2018

Jim Carrey is supposedly in talks to play Dr. Eggman/Robotnik in the 2019 Sonic The Hedgehog movie.

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 11: Jim Carrey from the film "Jim & Andy: the Great Beyond - the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman with a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton" poses for a portrait during the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival at Intercontinental Hotel on September 11, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Maarten de Boer/Contour by Getty Images)

Sonic the Hedgehog is releasing in 2019, and the film could be about to cast its antagonist. The Hollywood Reporter states that Jim Carrey is in "final negotiations" to play Dr. Robotnik, known famously as Doctor Eggman. Carrey would join James Marsden and Tika Sumpter.

We know that Sonic the Hedgehog will be a combination of live-action and CGI. Eggman's design is a bit on the exaggerated side, so the question has to be asked: will Robotnik be realized in live-action, or as a CGI creation? While not confirmed, The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit says he was told that the villain will be the former.

It is not terribly hard to imagine a live-action portrayal of Eggman. In 2013, Blue Core Studios released a Sonic spec movie, which was also a live-action and CGI hybrid. Eggman, who was based on his original Genesis design, was portrayed in live-action. It was convincing, and more importantly, Eggman was portrayed as a legitimate menace. That is something that is hoped to be the case in Paramount's film as well. Eggman has always been a comedic character, but with an engaging seriousness as well. That seriousness can be seen in games such as Sonic Adventure 2 and 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog. Eggman is used for comic relief, but with the right writing, he's an engaging antagonist.

Jim Carrey is known for his comedic movie roles, such as in The Mask and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. If Carrey is indeed in the Sonic film, what kind of performance can we expect? Will we get an engaging, yet subtly humorous performance, like in The Truman Show, or an over-the-top campy role, like his portrayal of the Riddler in Batman Forever?

There hasn't been much information released on the movie. However, we do know at least one aspect of the story. Earlier in June, as reported by Deadline, Paramount CEO Jim Gianopulos stated the "hook" that sold him on the film: Sonic himself is "a juvenile delinquent on the adventures in a pretty straight rural environment with a local policeman." So, we know from this that the famed hedgehog will be a rebellious character, either for part of the film, or the whole thing. We also know that there will be some kind of buddy cop duo element, because Sonic will be teaming up with a police officer. Beyond that, nothing else is known of the story. It seems like Eggman will be involved, not that there was any doubt. Perhaps there will be more details at a Comic-Con this year.

Sonic the Hedgehog will be released on November 15th, 2019.