The first teaser image for Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is out now, released to coincide with the start of production.
Director Jeff Fowler, who has led all the Sonic movies so far, tweeted the image, below, adding that Sonic 4 was now filming ahead of its March 2027 release date.
Ready 4 Action 🎬#SonicMovie4 now filming.
In Theaters Worldwide March 2027 pic.twitter.com/6HK5Q804rj— Jeff Fowler (@fowltown) March 2, 2026
In the image, Fowler is holding Amy’s hammer. Is it a real prop as opposed to CGI only? Does this mean a human character will end up using it at some point? Will Sonic 4 answer the age-old question of where Amy actually keeps her hammer? We have a lot of questions.
Last month, it was confirmed that Kristen Bell voices Amy Rose, Sonic’s pink hedgehog pal (and possible love interest). We’ve known that Amy was coming to Sonic’s world since the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, when a mid-credits scene revealed both Metal Sonic and Sonic’s ally, Amy Rose, arriving to save him with a massive hammer in tow.
Ben Schwartz has voiced the Blue Blur since the first movie, with Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, and Colleen O’Shaughnessey reprising her video game role as Tails. Idris Elba joined the group in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as Knuckles, and Keanu Reeves stepped in as Shadow the Hedgehog in the third movie. It remains unclear who will voice Metal Sonic (if anyone, as Metal Sonic notoriously doesn’t really speak in most appearances). And we also don’t know if other fan-favorite Sonic characters (Blaze? Silver? Cream and Cheese? Big the Cat?) will show up.
As for Bell, she’s perhaps best known as the voice of Anna in the Frozen films, but has also starred in TV series such as The Good Place, Gossip Girl, Veronica Mars, and Nobody Wants This, as well as films including Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Couples Retreat. She’s appeared in a few video games too, including as the voice and likeness of Lucy in Assassin’s Creed 1, 2, and Brotherhood, and, of course, as Anna in the Disney Infinity games and Kingdom Hearts 3.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is currently expected to zip into theaters on March 19, 2027. There’s a spin-off movie coming as well in 2028, and fans are speculating that it will star Shadow the Hedgehog.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
