Sonic the Hedgehog movies have worked out pretty well for Sega — so much so that they’re now leafing through their catalog, wondering what else would work as a movie. I would argue that one of the big draws to the film was that Sonic was already a household name, and Sega owns little else that’s iconic on the hog’s level, making success for anything else less likely. But I’m not there to argue that, so…away we go.
Which Sega properties would you adapt? Did you think of Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone? Because that’s what first came to them. They’re partnering with the production company Picturestart, to this point known for indie films like Am I Ok? and Cha Cha Real Smooth, to work these things into two-hour narrative experiences.
Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone are two completely different games. One is a rhythm music game starring a pink-haired space reporter who has to save the world from aliens by dancing a lot. The other is a hard-as-nails (possibly even harder than nails, actually) beat-em-up from the mid-90s about an artist who is trapped inside his own comic book.
Comix Zone would work a lot better as a movie than Space Channel 5 would. Ulala has appeal, but the stakes of Comix Zone are that if the artist wins, the woman who’s helping him fight will become real (and possibly date him) and if he loses, the VILLAIN will become real and destroy the Earth. Even better, the comic world could be animated in the hardcore style of 90s comics. It’d be like Cool World, only good.
But the proposed plotline is already out there and it’s something completely different. According to THR, this movie “follows a jaded comic book creator and a young, queer writer of color who, when sucked into the final issue of his popular series, must put aside their differences to stop a dangerous supervillain from sowing complete destruction.” Sounds like a buddy comedy about an incel and a preachy woke having to team up…boy, could this go wrong. Just stick to the original plot, it’s fine.
Space Channel 5 needs a lot more massaging to have a real plot: “The story of a hapless fast-food worker who is recruited by a freedom reporter from the future to save the world from aliens using the one thing that unites all people on the planet: our love of silly viral dances.” They’ve modernized it by connecting the whole thing to TikTok culture.
It’s not a given that either of these movies will get made; they’re just proposals for now with no greenlights from any major studio. And it doesn’t sound like either of them would be a loss if they never happened. Do yourself a favor and play the games, they’re better. Just…prepare to swear and throw your controller a lot when playing Comix Zone. It doesn’t mess around.
