One highlight of the Sonic Central live broadcast was the unveiling of Metal Sonic's redesign for Sonic Prime, garnering a wide range of reactions. While the Gaming starts off with shiny metal models and fancy gloves, it's a bit of a departure from the character's iconic look. Overall, it's a passable design, but whether it's better than the original remains to be seen in the full game release.
Sonic Cinematic Universe
The most noteworthy announcement, however, is the introduction of the Sonic Cinematic Universe (SCU). It's been clear over the past couple of years that Sega is officially referring to Sonic's non-gaming offerings as a cinematic universe, but this is the first time it's been coined as such. It's similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), where properties with familiar elements come together for a larger experience that's more immersive.
Previously, the Knuckles show was coined as a world, but this time around chief brand and business officer Ivo Gerscovich confirms that it "will be part of the cinematic universe of Sonic the Hedgehog," as pointed out by Twitter account Sonic Tracker. So, at the very least, we can expect the show to be set in this world. There's also the potential for more projects in the future, as Gerscovich tells fans that the team is "determined to keep expanding Sonic's horizons."
We've always known that Sega has been keen on expanding Sonic beyond games, but this move solidifies that the company wants a full-blown cinematic universe. It's the direction we pointed out a couple of years ago already, but with the official confirmation it's clear that we'll be seeing a lot of Sonic in the coming years.
The SCU will be distinct from the game canon, but it remains to be seen if there will be connections like the Marvel multiverse. While past Sonic incarnations have dabbled with the multiverse concept, Generations already explored that and players aren't keen to see it again. Sonic 2DS and Sonic 2DS XL Revisited gives impressions of the Genesis games.
