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“ Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ” star Ben Schwartz , the voice behind the film’s blue titular character, is entertaining the possibility of a movie based on the “ Super Smash Bros. ” video games. “We’re getting closer,” said Schwartz of the crossover platform fighting game’s chance of getting a big screen adaptation in an interview with Variety .
The “Super Smash Bros.” series launched in 1999 and originally featured Nintendo characters like Mario and Pikachu brawling in stages based on their respective worlds. “ Super Smash Bros.
Brawl ” — the series’ 2008 installment for the Nintendo Wii — brought Sonic and Solid Snake of the “Metal Gear” games to the virtual fight in a move that paved the way for more third-party, non-Nintendo characters to join the franchise. A possible “Smash” film would likely feature both Sonic and Mario, the latter of whom got a big screen power-up in “ The Super Mario Bros. Movie ” last year.
The “Mario” movie, which earned $1.36 billion at the global box office and is the highest-grossing film based on a video game, is set to get a sequel in 2026. Schwartz told Variety that he thinks it’d be “bananas” if Hollywood takes a shot at bringing “Smash” to the big screen but noted that such a film would mean “so many different studios being kind to each other at the same time.
” “But the idea that we get to build our own franchise that lives on its own, and we have so many characters within this franchise, that we can do three, four, five, six — that’s what I’m concentrating on and that’s what I love,” he said. The “Sonic” movies are produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures while the “Mario” movie — along with its expected sequel — is produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. Schwartz said he “would not be against” such a “battle royale” but noted that he’d have to see if Paramount would let him play in it.
He stressed that “Sonic 3” is currently on his mind and if the franchise sees a “Sonic 4,” which is reportedly in the works , there will be more opportunities to explore. After Variety’s Jordan Moreau brought up a “Legend of Zelda” film adaptation that Nintendo is developing with Sony Pictures , Schwartz pointed to 2019′s “Pokémon Detective Pikachu” as a sign that a “Smash” movie isn’t far away. “So if you can get all these studios that oftentimes compete with each other to make the same movie and somehow split the profits, that would be wonderful,” Schwartz said.
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