Mystery Sonic the Hedgehog spinoff movie coming in 2028

Paramount wants to keep the Sonic the Hedgehog movie machine running through 2028: A fifth Sonic movie, which appears to be a spinoff, and not necessarily Sonic the Hedgehog 5, is already on the books, Variety reported Monday.

We’re already getting Sonic the Hedgehog 4, which has a March 19, 2027 release date — and may or may not be titled Sonic CD — but Paramount has now committed to a new “Sonic Universe Event Film,” for a Dec. 22, 2028 debut in theaters. It’s unclear what Paramount plans to do with the Sonic Universe, but after the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which introduced fan-favorite Shadow, a stand-alone movie starring Keanu Reeves’ character certainly seems within the realm of possibility (and profitability). Knuckles has already got his spinoff.

But there are limitless options when it comes to the Sonic Universe, such as

• A Big the Cat spinoff, which will be inevitable after Big the Cat is introduced in the live-action/animated hybrid series
• An adaptation of Mario & Sonic at The Olympic Games, given that the next Olympics will happen in 2028 in Los Angeles and the world will still be in the throes of Olympic Fever
• Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II, should the dense tome that is Sonic the Hedgehog 4 actually require two movies to tell, and because nothing has ever gone wrong with Sonic the Hedgehog when delivered in episodic form
• The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog: A Knives Out Mystery, which I think would qualify as a challenge for writer-director Rian Johnson

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 promises to be a crowded affair, as the follow-up to Sonic 3 portended the arrival of Amy Rose and Metal Sonic in the live-action Sonic Universe. Should Jim Carrey return as Robotnik, alongside Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Tom, and Maddie, the film will have quite a few characters to juggle. (So far, no one is officially attached to Sonic 4, even three-time Sonic director Jeff Fowler.)

In addition to Sonic, Paramount will also expand the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise with a new live-action TMNT film coming on Nov. 17, 2028. That’s part of the plan to Sonic-fy the Ninja Turtles, so hold your breath for that one. The previous live-action turtles didn’t turn out so well.