The Sonic the Hedgehog fanbase is notorious for being among the most fervent fandoms on the internet. Thus, when news broke last year that a Sonic the Hedgehog live-action movie was in the works, many of the passionate fans broke out into a frenzy. However, little about the film the content of the film has been revealed since its announcement, save for the announcement of James Marsden and Tika Sumpter joining the film’s cast. Now, the CEO of Paramount Pictures, Jim Gianopulos, has provided some insight into the new Sonic movie and certain aspects of the script that convinced him to keep the project running.

Gianopulos recently spoke at the PGA Produced by Conference about the history and future of Paramount Pictures, the studio producing the Sonic movie. Joining him in the public conversation was Fast & Furious franchise producer Neal H. Moritz, who sold Gianopulos on the idea of making the live-action/animated hybrid project. According to Moritz, it was his presentation of Sonic’s characterization and story that cemented the project’s value as Gianopulos states:

He’s a juvenile delinquent on the adventures in a pretty straight rural environment with a local policeman. It was instantly engaging and it was good enough where you could see where it’s going,”

While some may be cautious about seeing this attribute play a big part of Sonic’s personality in the film, it could very well lend itself well to giving The Blue Blur a solid character arc in the narrative as he becomes a hero. It also does somewhat pay tribute to the origins of Sega’s marketing of character, as they intended to position him as a rebel with attitude opposite the more traditional and straight-forward demeanor of Nintendo’s Mario in the 1990s.

Both Gianopulos and Moritz are aware of past failures that video game film adaptations have had, and it certainly seems like they are more than willing to take this version of his story seriously. Certainly anything would be a step up from the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game’s story.

What do you guys think about the Sonic movie featuring a juvenile delinquent personality? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to stay tuned for the latest Sega news, such as the new Team Sonic Racing trailer, here on Don’t Feed the Gamers! Follow us on Twitter to see our updates the minute they go live!