Sonic the Hedgehog
franchise voice actor Colleen O’Shaughnessey addresses a potential Tails spinoff project. After making her debut as Sonic’s close friend, Tails, in the 2020 movie, O’Shaughnessey has reprised her role for two sequels, as well as the Knuckles spinoff TV show on Paramount+. Following the success of the third movie in theaters, she’s next set to portray Tails in the announced Sonic the Hedgehog 4, which is arriving in 2026, but the character hasn’t yet gotten his own solo adventure.
During a recent interview with ComicBook.com, O’Shaughnessey shares her thoughts regarding a possible Sonic the Hedgehog spinoff movie or TV show focused on Tails. The actor expresses interest in seeing earlier portions of Tails’ life shown on-screen, opening the door for a “baby Tails” depiction of the character. Check out O’Shaughnessey’s comment below:
“I think you could absolutely do a spin-off with Tails. An origin story for Tails would be amazing, to see where he came from… a little baby Tails. I would love it. Is it of course amazing to have him with Sonic? For sure, because they are you know… a sidekick/hero combination. They work so well together. But I think it would be really neat to see where he came from. Why not?”
What Sonic The Hedgehog 3’s Success Means For A Potential Tails Spinoff
The Latest Installment Has Been A Paramount Hit
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 reviews have praised the film as the best one so far. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 86% critics’ score, and the audience score is an impressive 95%. Made on an estimated budget of $122 million, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has grossed $423 million worldwide, making the highest-grossing entry in the franchise. As seen in the chart below, all three movies in the franchise have been major wins for Paramount, and the clear audience interest in the franchise bodes well for a Tails spinoff project eventually coming to fruition.
Sonic the Hedgehog Franchise Key Figures |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
тιтle |
RT Critics’ Score |
RT Audience Score |
Est. Budget |
Worldwide Box Office |
Sonic the Hedgehog |
64% |
93% |
$90M |
$319M |
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 |
69% |
96% |
$110M |
$405M |
Knuckles |
75% |
67% |
N/A |
N/A |
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 |
86% |
95% |
$122M |
$423M |
That being said, the response to Knuckles was a little less glowing. The show currently sports the lowest Rotten Tomatoes audience score for the franchise, and Knuckles reviews criticized the series for falling short when it came to the writing. While this could affect Paramount’s willingness to pursue a Tails spinoff, it’s worth mentioning that Knuckles was a major viewership hit, and it became Paramount+’s most-streamed kids’ and family тιтle ever.
Our Take On A Possible Tails Spinoff
Is Tails Better As Part Of The Sonic The Hedgehog Team?
O’Shaughnessey makes an interesting point in her comment about the power of Sonic and Tails as hero and sidekick. Sometimes, characters work better as pairings. This might be part of why the Knuckles TV show struggled to tell as compelling a story as the films.
Still, Tails has been a consistently entertaining part of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, and it’s entirely possible that a spinoff focusing on this character would end up being better than Knuckles. If another spinoff did move forward, it seems likely to be a Paramount+ show instead of a movie, and this kind of smaller-scale storytelling could be a great fit for Tails.
Source: ComicBook.com