Small Details You Missed In The Final Sonic The Hedgehog 2 Trailer

The first designs for "Sonic the Hedgehog" were met with overwhelming backlash in 2019, and it seemed like the video game-turned-film was doomed. However, after being delayed by Paramount so the team could redesign the titular blue hedgehog, the film went on to have a record-setting opening weekend. Now, with two sequels and a spin-off series on the horizon, the adaptation has successfully turned things around.

The reception of the first trailer for "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" drastically differed from the original, with many fans eager to see what's next for the franchise. Jim Carrey, who seldom stars in sequels, will even be returning as the evil mad scientist Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik.

The upcoming adventure film will follow Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) as he faces off against a vengeful Robotnik. This time, though, each has a partner in crime: Tails (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba). If Sonic and Tails don't beat Robotnik and Knuckles to the Master Emerald, it could mean the end of the world.

With the stakes higher than ever, the final trailer for "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" offers another glimpse at the explosive search for this all-powerful emerald. Here's what you might've missed in the action-packed new trailer.

"Sonic the Hedgehog" has always had a rocking soundtrack. From rolling and majestic music in the Emerald Hills Zone to the industrial and upbeat tunes of the Chemical Plant Zone, "Sonic" has an iconic repertoire of music that is immediately recognizable to die-hard fans of the video game franchise. In this newest trailer for "Sonic 2," one of the first scenes shows Thomas Wachowski (James Marsden) attending a wedding in Hawaii, but right in the middle of the ceremony his cell phone rings out, and this particular ringtone pays homage to the movie's video game inspiration.

Astute fans may have picked up on this auditory queue, but for the uninitiated, the ringtone is actually the music from the first level of the original "Sonic" video game. This impressive and robust 16-bit track created by Masato Nakamura comes to us from the Green Hills Zone, which was also referenced in the first film as the town Sonic hides in: Green Hills, Montana. Clever nods like this one are a great way to respect life-long fans of the series.

One of the major driving forces of both the "Sonic" movie and video games are mysterious stones known as Chaos Emeralds. In this new trailer, we see that Dr. Robotnik has discovered what he refers to as a source of ultimate power, which is revealed to be the green Chaos Emerald. These particular gems, within the game series, are imbued with fantastic powers like time manipulation or the ability to transform its holder into a being of vast cosmic power, as illustrated by Sonic's yellow-furred iteration that is effectively unstoppable in the video game "Sonic 3."

Not only is Sonic on a quest for these in the video game franchise, but Dr. Robotnik also covets their power. Sonic wishes to protect the Chaos Emeralds, while Dr. Robotnik wants to use their power to remake the world in his own twisted image. Knuckles is the official guardian of these powerful relics, and his tribe of anthropomorphic animals is tasked with protecting them. The trailer sees Dr. Robotnik use a Chaos Emerald to power his army of machines, while also radiating the awesome power of the Emeralds himself, which is illustrated by the green arcs of lightning across his body. Hopefully this means that we might get a glimpse of 'Super Sonic' at some point.

As longtime "Sonic" gamers have been pointing out online, there's a moment during Monday's trailer that is almost identical to a classic "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" level called the Sky Chase Zone, in which Tails and Sonic operate a red and white biplane dubbed "The Tornado" through various obstacles and enemies (via Sonic Fandom). In the new trailer, we see nearly a shot-for-shot recreation of it, with Sonic even standing on top of the plane's wings just like he does in the game.

"They went full Sonic lore for this film, and I love it!" tweeted one excited fan. "I'm looking forward to seeing The Tornado in action," another said.

According to Sonic Fandom, Sonic owns the Tornado biplane but mainly lets Tails fly it. The game vehicle has appeared multiple times throughout the Sonic franchise after initially debuting in the 1992 sequel. This includes outings in Sega's 1998 hit "Sonic Adventure."

Toward the end of the new "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" trailer, we see some brief but exciting clashes between two of the video game franchise's biggest stars: Knuckles and Sonic. During one run-in, Sonic is racing down a snowy mountain landscape away from a horde of Robotnik drones when he delivers a very interesting quip about his new red foe, who suddenly shows up and begins chasing him.

"Aw great, the Winter Soldier," Sonic says, referencing Marvel's super villain-turned-good guy Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan in the MCU. Could this be an ominous — and equally hilarious — hat-tip to Knuckles' character arc from the video games, which saw him get tricked into thinking Sonic was a bad guy? It would certainly appear so.

"#Sonic calling #Knuckles the 'Winter Soldier' tho 😂😂😂 the accuracy," tweeted one fan who watched the trailer. 

"He called that man the winter soldier LMFAOOO," wrote another person. "Knuckles is cool again."

The Winter Soldier quip was ultimately one of the highlights of the trailer, with Paramount Pictures also playing it briefly to introduce the clip.

While Sonic the Hedgehog found a place in the gaming world as Sega's answer to Nintendo's Mario, it resembled most early '90s games by focusing more on the gameplay than the storyline. Collecting power rings and avoiding obstacles all while going really fast wasn't something that essentially needed a story in those days.

However, in a small throwback moment from the new trailer, audiences were treated to a sweet callback to the game that changed all of that. In a moment with epic slow motion (and an obligatory shout-out to the MCU), Sonic jumps from a cave at the top of a mountain and uses a makeshift snowboard to flee from pursuers. When Sonic jumps on the board and does his best impression of the Winter Olympics, eagle-eared viewers will hear his classic "Woo Hoo HOO!"

Why is this cool? The exclamation goes back to 1998, with the release of "Sonic Adventure." According to an issue of Computer and Video Games Magazine released in October of '98, this game defined the future of the franchise. "Sonic Adventure" was the first to introduce 3D gameplay, the first to be story-driven, and the first to include a full voice over. Included in that voice over was the phrase "Woo Hoo HOO," every time our hero performed a cool stunt. 

Now we have a feature film franchise that uses CGI, dynamic storytelling, and voice talent. This small detail calls back to the game that paved the way for all of it.