Back in 2014, Sony announced plans to bring Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog to the big screen with a CGI / live-action hybrid adventure, and then…things got quiet. And they stayed quiet. Until now. Sega is threatening us with an actual, honest-to-goodness release date for the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, which will allegedly roll into theaters in 2018.

Last we heard, Upright Citizens Brigade vets Evan Susser and Van Robichaux had been tapped to write a screenplay for the Sonic movie, which will combine elements of CGI and live-action and will most likely feature some of the blue hedgehog’s famous villains, like Doctor Robotnik. It’s been a while since Sega and Sony have said anything about the film, which is where CEO Hajime Satomi comes in.

In an interview with The Worldfolio (via iO9), Satomi confirmed that not only is the film still in development, but they’ve put it on the fast-track:

Sega Sammy Group is currently planning with Sony Pictures to create a live-action and animation hybrid “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie scheduled for release in 2018. Like with this CG animation production, we would like to expand our business into other entertainment areas beyond what we are currently involved.

It’s unclear if Susser and Robichaux’s script is still in play, or who might be directing this ambitious and kind of weird project. Sonic was fairly popular back in his classic Sega days, but he became far more popular with his ’90s animated series (imagine the sunglasses smiley face emoji with blue hair — that was basically this show) and with his more contemporary video games. He also had a cameo in Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph, while a new animated series called Sonic Boom premiered in 2014 and proved that the character still has enduring appeal.

Still, a Sonic the Hedgehog CGI / live-action hybrid movie seems a bit…odd. And yet, some really good movies have emerged from some truly baffling concepts. Too bad Phil Lord and Chris Miller are busy.

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