Sonic's universe is getting set to expand pretty significantly next month via the arrival of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The highly anticipated sequel hits cinemas on April 1 in the UK and seven days later in the US and will feature the big screen debut of Idris Elba's Knuckles. The movie is set on Earth, although Sonic and co. arrive on the planet through the blue blur's iconic rings which act as portals to different dimensions in the movies.
The majority of the action taking place on Earth has raised a question Sonic fans have been asking for decades. What's the deal with between Sonic, Tails, and the rest of the anthropomorphic characters and the universe's humans? Sonic has befriended a few humans in the movies, but it isn't the first time he has come across them. Sometimes a Sonic game's NPCs are humans, sometimes they're not, and of course, the hedgehog's arch nemesis Dr. Robotnik is a human.
Sonic fans have been theorizing why humans are around some of the time and completely missing on other occasions. A little more than minute into Tails' very first episode of TailsTube, the fox was asked about his and other Sonic animals' relationships with humans, and actually provided an answer. Tails threw to a birds eye shot of the planet he and Sonic call home, highlighting the “bajillions” of tiny islands you can't see until you zoom in.
According to Tails, it's these tiny islands that he, Sonic, and every other animal you've ever seen in a Sonic game call home. Since there are so many of them, it might explain why some characters disappear for years at a time. Meanwhile, humans reside on the much larger continents, hence why sometimes they're in games and other times they are not.
Thus begins the process of Sonic fans going back through every Sonic game ever made and picking holes in why the bombshell Tails just revealed isn't entirely accurate. It's something fans have wondered since Sonic Adventure launched in 1998. It might be an answer from an official avenue, but you can guarantee it will be disputed. As for Sonic and Tails, they will be mixing it up with humans a lot on April 1 when Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hits cinemas.