SEGA was originally planning to end the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise at one point after it had reached a series low point, according to Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka.
Speaking with One More Game, Iiuzka-san explained that the release of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie in 2020 was a major turning point for the series. The film went on to spawn two sequels and a TV series, with a fourth movie currently in production. He also revealed that Shadow the Hedgehog is his favourite character, and that SEGA at one point wanted to kill him off – something that didn’t end up happening.
“It has been 35 years, which means it has been longer than actually my children, so I look upon this franchise like sort of like my own son. “There had been good times, and there had been bad times,” he commented. “During the worst times, I was told by the higher-ups that we should cancel the entire franchise. I had to fight within the organization to keep the franchise as long as possible.”
“The biggest milestone for me was the first movie,” he explained. “That had been a great hit and definitely changed the course of this franchise.”
Now the third movie is out, and the popularity of Shadow has been on the rise. Before that, the most popular characters were Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, and it has always been that way. But now, Shadow has been rising up to the same popularity as Sonic. And me, personally… [Shadow’s] my favorite character. I want to have more places where Shadow can appeal more. I want to focus on him a little bit more.
Sonic celebrates his 35th anniversary this year, with the original game having launched for the Sega Mega Drive in 1991. The fourth Sonic movie is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on March 19, 2027.
[Source – One More Game]