Sonic Live Action Movie Thread (Read OP for topic rules) "Trailer 2 on Page 482)

[Tani Coyote]

It's practically a given it will be a Boom film at this point, given the massive marketing push. While there's always that chance of SEGA Japan wanting to control the movie so as to ensure SEGA Sonic isn't left completely in the dust, since 2014's approach seems to be to let the West do as it pleases, I'm going to guess the film will be related to the cartoon.

 

On the flipside, having it be based on the original game canon would be a good reminder that the original timeline hasn't been completely discarded.

[Tenko]

I'm still getting over their double standards and almost text book flip flop on the double branch aspect of this whole thing. On one hand you have Generations, where people were going loopy for "classic" Sonic, nostalgia going wild, and asking if we will see him again in any new games, couldn't you do a new 2D series with him in (not the Sonic 4 we got) etc etc. To which the replies were something along the lines of "no, we have "modern" now and we can't market two separate versions of the same franchise, customer confusion don't you know".

Then fast forward to 2014 or earlier considering the time period to make this stuff, and its "oh yes Sonic is a big wide appealing franchise and we have devised this ingenious idea to run two branches at the same time, increasing his fan base and moving into other media at the same time, but don't worry "modern" is still around and there is gunna be no confusion cause they are quite different" (makes Knuckles buff and puts a scarf on Sonic) "see"...its like....say what?!

[Tani Coyote]

Gonna be frank here. I think SEGA Japan are a fairly proud sort and prefer Modern Sonic because he's their invention through and through, whereas Classic Sonic was ultimately as big as he was because of the West's efforts instead, despite his origins in Japan. As memory serves Modern Sonic also coincides with the time Japan got more controlling, so it makes sense.

 

I think cooler, more humble heads have prevailed however after Lost World's critical and sales failures. Sammy wants to make money, and the current direction just isn't doing it, at least not on the scale they desire. So I presume that somewhere high up on the food chain issued the order to let the West have a great deal of autonomy again and see what happens - based on the hype that's been generated among the mainstream, this very well could be a great idea.

 

Allowing both series to exist alongside each other similar to the multiple continuities of the 90s is a compromise. The Japan branch keeps the version of Sonic they treasure, while the West gets to have homebrewed versions of Sonic all over again that can very likely sell better as well as generate interest in the main franchise.

 

There's always that fear of a reboot, but that's primarily because we're used to having only one timeline in the franchise, compared to multiple timelines in the field of comics, books, and cartoons. Zelda gets by just fine with three timelines, I'm sure Sonic can get by with two.

[RK64]

Gonna be frank here. I think SEGA Japan are a fairly proud sort and prefer Modern Sonic because he's their invention through and through, whereas Classic Sonic was ultimately as big as he was because of the West's efforts instead, despite his origins in Japan. As memory serves Modern Sonic also coincides with the time Japan got more controlling, so it makes sense.

 

I think cooler, more humble heads have prevailed however after Lost World's critical and sales failures. Sammy wants to make money, and the current direction just isn't doing it, at least not on the scale they desire. So I presume that somewhere high up on the food chain issued the order to let the West have a great deal of autonomy again and see what happens - based on the hype that's been generated among the mainstream, this very well could be a great idea.

 

Allowing both series to exist alongside each other similar to the multiple continuities of the 90s is a compromise. The Japan branch keeps the version of Sonic they treasure, while the West gets to have homebrewed versions of Sonic all over again that can very likely sell better as well as generate interest in the main franchise.

 

There's always that fear of a reboot, but that's primarily because we're used to having only one timeline in the franchise, compared to multiple timelines in the field of comics, books, and cartoons. Zelda gets by just fine with three timelines, I'm sure Sonic can get by with two.

 

Its really sad to say, but your right about Classic Sonic; Sega Japan must hate the poor guy even though they brought so much success to the Sonic brand in the past . Maybe that is why we didn't get Classic Sonic in Sonic 4 and Sonic Racing Transformed (Sumo had a Cart and everything for the guy, but Sonic Team said no to the idea ).

 

That being said, I can't really say Sega Japan should be so proud of Modern Sonic, as the "Boost Triology" while a substantial improvement over games like Shadow and Sonic 06....its not really that hard to be better than those games. The Classic series really had an impact on the world when they came out, with Sonic even holding his own against Mario at that time, but the Modern Sonic games really didn't have that huge of an impact as those did. It seems that for every thing those games did right, they messed up in some other area (Ex: Unleashed had great world building and amazing presentation but also had horrid pacing issues and did a poor job making the Werehog be fun to play), while other platformers on the market nailed everything they set out to do.

 

I don't know, Sonic Colors and Generations were very solid games, but with Modern Sonic not having as large of an impact as Classic or even Adventure Sonic.....they should just be happy that they did something right to begin with.

[Tenko]

I can totally agree with that. Its kinda why Nintendo is snail'ing along tech wise and getting grief in the west. They are unwilling to admit they have made mistakes, very proud. Also why Microsoft and the Xbox brand does poorly in the east, they would rather buy their own products and not support western companies.

Its a bit of a hurdle really cause they need to open up more to other ideas to be profitable worldwide. Yes they know their own market well, yes it's entirely possible for them to survive on the profit from their own market alone (something a lot of people forget, the west means little to them really sales wise) but if they are serious about bringing in the western sales they do need to seriously do their homework on what western people are after.

Not just turning franchises people loved anyway into action games or FPS's games.

[Tani Coyote]

If you're referring to SEGA Sammy as getting by only in the East, I don't know about that. While Sammy certainly can since it's all pachinko machines anyway, not so sure on SEGA - SEGA's big hitter is Sonic, and Sonic is not something that fares well in Japan. Sure they have Yakuza and the like, but if they really wanted to do Japan only it would probably make more sense to just let SEGA go as its profits wouldn't be anywhere near what they are now. SEGA already struggles at times even with the western market and Sonic still having good sales overall (even if he is the butt of jokes he still has millions of fans), so I can't imagine how downhill they'd go if they tried Japan-only.

 

Overall though I think there's a lot of pride at work with SEGA Japan not liking the idea that their own product does better in someone else's hands. It's understandable - if I made a book and it sold poorly, then someone else did a derivative work and it became a blockbuster hit, I might be somewhat green with envy as well. It's basically similar to work being miscredited to someone else - this work is famous, but not because of you.

 

I think it's poetic, though. SEGA was a Western company to begin with, and even after moving to Japan it still seems to be unable to escape its roots.

 

As memory serves Takashi Iizuka said one of the big changes of his leadership was SEGA started letting more and more westerners in on the making of the games, and for a time, this seemed to finally fix Sonic's problems. Unleashed's Day stages were praised, Sonic Colors and Generations were hits, and overall it seemed like Sonic was indeed back. Then Lost World came along. Though Boom has been in development for a while now, I wouldn't be surprised if Lost World's failure had a hand in giving the West a level of freedom and control they haven't had since the 90s, or even more than that (given that the original games were still made by a Japanese team, unlike this one); it's obvious that even Iizuka's leadership is not enough to save the brand, and drastic times call for drastic measures.

 

So it stands to reason... why not try and recreate the circumstances that made Sonic such a huge icon in the first place?

 

Which is why if this were a film that will be released in theaters, I really ponder what's going to happen with it. If they use Boom!Sonic and friends and this does well, that's effectively a death knell for the SEGA Sonic series. So many people will know Sonic and like Sonic not for his SEGA brand (which, let's be honest, tends to be considered tripe barring a few installments) that it would seem odd to keep SEGA!Sonic around for any reason but nostalgia.

 

Nostalgia is something SEGA doesn't mind using, though, so I can see SEGA!Sonic retaining a niche role and thus remaining around even if the film focuses on Boom.

[TeeheeSamson]

If we're gonna get a movie, it better look like this:

If not, forget about me ever watching it.

[Jayhan]

Personally, I think Sony will be going for the CGI. The company knows that animation nowadays is scoring high in the box office, so they would definitely make sure that it's a CGI movie.

 

In fact, Sony is already trying to get these two game franchises as CGI movies on the big screen (which I'm really hyped to see):

 

 

 

Now, my concern for the Sonic movie is that as long as it's done by some well-known company who's known to have produced/created great CGI movies, then I'll be happy.

 

If we're gonna get a movie, it better look like this:

If not, forget about me ever watching it.

^ What he said.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

If we're gonna get a movie, it better look like this:

If not, forget about me ever watching it.

Sounds a bit Unleashed-obsessive of you.

[Jayhan]

Sounds a bit Unleashed-obsessive of you.

Hahaha, but TeeheeSamson's got a point. The CGI cinematics in Sonic Unleashed were beautiful.

[Willsy]

Hahaha, but TeeheeSamson's got a point. The CGI cinematics in Sonic Unleashed were beautiful.

Not only were they beautiful, but they were outstanding for video game CGI. I'm surprised that Unleashed's intro didn't get an award.

[Tani Coyote]

I think the live action video game adaption idea has finally died, thank the Heavens.

 

Any Sonic film will undeniably be pure CGI based on the trend. It won't be "let's put Sonic in real life" either, so that's a double plus right there.

 

This avoids the two things almost all poor video game films have, which gives me hope for this new generation of game films.

[Milo]

I think the live action video game adaption idea has finally died, thank the Heavens.

 

Resident Evil film series aside, which is still going strong -and even then, it's far removed from the game series anyway by this point-, I think a string of videogame film adaptations becoming critical and box office bombs at the box office in the late 2000s (Uwe Boll's In The Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tail and Far Cry, as well as the Street Fighter 2010 film and Disney's Prince of Persia adaptation -which was a success overseas, but a domestic failure-) has finally wiped away mass interest for big-budget live-action videogame adaptations.

 

Since 2010, only two Resident Evil films (which are usually released on a bi-yearly basis, with the latest film will be coming out later this year) and Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (which despite critically panned was a modest commercial success) were released-no wide-release videogame films in both 2011 and 2013.

 

That's not to say they've finally died out. A live-action Need for Speed film coming out next week, though, . There's also a (seemingly live-action) Heavenly Sword film being released this summer, though it sounds like it will be a more limited release than anything (will be released digitally and theatrically in selected regions). And there are still some (reboots of) live-action adaptations of films that are in the works (Assassin's Creed, Warcraft, and Metal Gear Solid -all seemingly to be in live-action- being a few examples).

[Tani Coyote]

So indeed, interest in a wide release of live-action adaptions has pretty much died.

 

Need for Speed is purely human in its cast, isn't it? That would explain its ability to thrive in a live-action environment. It's when you have to make monsters and animals and such CGI, as well as adapt a fantasy story to a real life setting that hilarity (and mediocrity) ensues.

 

I think CGI is clearly the way to go for the vast majority of films, as it enables use of the actual game assets and also allows a film to take place in the original universe rather than trying to adapt it to every day life. Avoiding the clashes that can result is generally a huge plus. While Wreck-It Ralph wasn't a pure video game movie, I think it did illustrate that video game characters are generally going to look best in their original medium of being rendered rather than in the flesh.

 

Looking over the AC and MGS films convinces me Sony really wants a monopoly on video game films at this point. They're exploiting Nintendo's cowardice towards films to the maximum, getting involved in production and/or distribution across the board!

[Salamander]

I feel like '06 and Unleashed's stories were probably written with the principles of a blockbuster movie in mind.  The opening cutscenes especially give me that impression.  Well, '06 did pretty poorly out of it, but Unleashed is better-admired, and with any luck a movie could capture some of that magic.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Night Of The Werehog appear in theatres as a short?  The team behind Unleashed's cutscenes were literally producing movie-quality material.  Whatever happened to that?

[Tani Coyote]

Sony confirmed the Last of Us film yesterday or so. That's four Sony IPs being turned into films...

If anyone's going to be making a Sonic film, it's definitely likely to have these guys involved.

My speculation would be this, really. If the film is Boom-related, it will come out in 2015. This would allow it to function as a sequel of sorts to the show (likely between seasons); being a prequel would be kind of redundant given the Boom game.

However, it could very well also come out in 2016. It would be a great way to mark Sonic's 25th anniversary, to say the least. In that case I think it would be related to SEGA!Sonic rather than Boom!Sonic simply because Boom would theoretically no longer be the focus.

All that said, however... if this really is the "Year of Sonic," a Sonic film coming out this year would make sense. I can't help but shake the feeling it would be rushed if that were the case, however. However, since it's not a Sony IP, it makes sense it would break the formula of having a 2 year warning; perhaps SEGA wanted to keep the project under wraps for a fairly long time? The fact the Boom game was given such a large dev time makes me hopeful that any film released this year would similarly have been given a good deal of time to be worked on.

All just speculation, though.

With regards to the above post: I'm hopeful Marza have been busy on something behind the scenes at least for a few years, explaining their absence from more recent games. That's just my naive idealism at work though, probably.

Looking at Marza's credits... they seem to have not really done anything since 2011 in video games and made the Captain Harlock film in 2013. I can't help but wonder if their video game services were retired in favor of more ambitious projects...

[Gatestormer]

Huh? Marza do still produce sequences for videogames (Lost World's CGI is theirs), they haven't gone anywhere and are not absent from the Sonic series.

 

They also produce pieces for Hatsune Miku, such as the live concert animations last year and even the Miku iPhone app.

 

That being said, the studio's real business is dedicated to making movies, but they certainly aren't doing anything towards a Sonic movie as they're currently producing their first original feature Robodog.

 

You can still expect Marza to be making short sequences for Sonic games as they always have done, but if this Sonic movie is real, they won't be involved. 

[Tani Coyote]

I blame the fact their wiki page hasn't been updated to include any of their work in Lost World and the like.

Oh well, that's why it's idle speculation I guess.

If this Year of Sonic thing is going to include any film it'd presumably be mentioned in a few months.

[WarioBone]

SONIC MOVIE DOMAINS REGISTERED

 

I hope you all realize that we are approaching the end times.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

What's with this notion that something made live-action is bound to suck?

[Chaos Incarnate]

What's with this notion that something made live-action is bound to suck?

In terms of most video game adaptations, being live action is fine. The main problems with most video game movies lie in casting, unnecessarily changing the material, or a terrible script altogether.

 

In Sonic's case however, I really don't see how you could possibly make it work in live action. You would obviously have to make Sonic CG when interacting with characters like Eggman and other humans, and that's just really awkward. Unless it really didn't take itself seriously (which is kind of hard to when using anthropomorphic characters in live action, remember Yogi Bear?), it seems rather pointless and pretentious to try and do Sonic in live action. It's been attempted by Eddie Lebron's rather disastrous fan attempt at showcasing it, which only served to remind us that Sonic is better off being done in animation.

[Nepenthe]

What's with this notion that something made live-action is bound to suck?

 

Actual precedent of children's material and video games being made into live-action films usually being bad. The industry is showing no signs of even pretending that making effortless family films to eat up gobs of money is anything more than a cash grab. On the other hand, animation from a high-profile studio tends to get better treatment by design of the way animated movies are made. And really, with as fantastic as most of the locations are for Sonic, it would be a disservice to put it in a live-action setting and the first sign that any potential director missed the point and was already on the wrong path. If anything, humans would have to enter an almost entirely CG world a la Gravity or Avatar.

[Tani Coyote]

I've determined most live action adaptions go out of their way to make the issues ChaosIncarnate points out, as well.

You can't just have "video game x with actual actors," you have to give them perfectly ordinary lives and yet happen to have the same name as these beloved characters and then have the video game happen to them. We all remember Mario Mario. Not a video game, but let's not touch on Goku being a high schooler.

[Willsy]

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=788564

Film will reportedly be aimed at older audiences, and will be darker and edgier. It's apparently being done by Columbia pictures.

Writers being considered are:

The only thing to do now is find a writer for the project, and an awesome shortlist has already been put together with some real heavy hitters:

Brad Bird (“Incredibles, “”Wall-E,” “Brave,” “Toy Story 2,” “Up”)

Wernick & Reese (“Deadpool,” “Monsters Inc,” “Zombieland,” “GI Joe Retaliation”)

David Berenbaum (“The Spiderwick Chronicles,” “Elf”)

Phil Johnston (“Wreck it Ralph” and “Nebraska”)

.....sounds really fake to me.

[Tani Coyote]

The source of the source says it's been "confirmed," but has no source.

Going to be blunt with how I view sources on the movie.

SEGA or GTFO.