Idris Elba reprises his role as Knuckles in TV spin-off of popular speedy series
Knuckles is an action-adventure miniseries created by John Whittington and Toby Ascher for Paramount+. It serves as a television spin-off of the Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise which itself is based on the beloved Sega video game series which began in 1991. It also marks the first-ever live-action Sonic TV series. The first Sonic the Hedgehog entry released in 2020 and earned a whopping $319 million at the worldwide box office on a reported budget of $90 million. Its sequel released two years later with a third installment releasing in 2024. Knuckles is set between the events of the second and third film; the character first appeared in the 2022 sequel.
Whittington is best known for his work on such popular titles as The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie and DC League of Super-Pets. He co-wrote the screenplay for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with Pat Casey and Josh Miller, along with the third film. Ascher previously produced the Sonic films as well as titles like Spenser Confidential and Battle Los Angeles. The duo serve as executive producers on the series alongside star Idris Elba, original Sonic director Jeff Fowler, Neal H. Moritz and Toru Nakahara. Tom Howe (Ted Lasso) composed the series' music. Fowler directs the first episode of Knuckles with additional directors including Ged Wright, Brandon Trost, Jorma Taccone and Carol Banker.
Idris Elba (The Wire) voices Knuckles the Echidna in the miniseries after previously voicing him in the two other entries. His previous voice credits include Zootopia, The Jungle Book and Finding Dory. He is joined by fellow returning actor, Adam Pally, who plays Wade Whipple.
Other cast members include Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) as "Pistol" Pete Whipple, Edi Patterson (Knives Out) as Wanda Whip, Stockard Channing (Grease) as Wendy Whipple, Julian Barratt (Flowers) as Jack Sinclair, Scott Mescudi AKA Kid Cudi (Trolls Band Together) as Agent Mason and Ellie Taylor (Ted Lasso) as Agent Willoughby. Guest stars include Rory McCann as "The Buyer", Tika Sumpter as Maddie Wachowski, Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Miles "Tails" Prower, Christopher Lloyd as Pachacamac, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel and Ben Schwartz reprising his role as Sonic the Hedgehog.
