Sonic 2 director on creating Knuckles and working with Idris Elba

Knuckles can be a real scene stealer Sonic 2. When he faces off against a cocky Sonic (voiced by Benjamin Schwartz) the assured warrior only has one question in response to the hero’s goading: “Do I look like I need your power?”

It is not true. Unlike Jim Carry’s obsessed Dr. Robotnik and Sonic’s arch nemesis, Knuckles isn’t at all interested in the blue blur’s special abilities. Knuckles proceeds to smash Sonic in the ground with relative ease. The shoulder heavy echidna oozes confidence and the fact that he is voiced with the deep and rich voice of Idris Elba, doesn’t hurt all that much either.

Knuckles the video game character was introduced before we meet him in the movie. The film first introduced him. Sonic 3 Video game, as the villain Sonic 2The movie recreates Sonic’s meeting with Knuckles. It follows their story as they become friends. Instead of being an unimportant character that is only used for the odd joke, Sonic and Knuckles are more than just a common joke-making gag. Sonic 2Knuckles’ past, and his journey to Master Emerald are all explored in surprising depth. Director Jeff Fowler sat down with Polygon to talk more about the making of Knuckles, working with Elba, and on creating a “fully realized, fully dimensional” Knuckles in the movie.

[Ed. note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.]

Then I had to wonder: Was it intentional that Knuckles were so hot?

Well, I think Idris is just inherently uh, sexy as we’ve all uh, sort of seen online, the sexy Knuckles debate. This is a great topic. I love seeing people discuss it. It’s hilarious. This was something that I didn’t expect. Idris was, I suppose, the sexiest human alive. Knuckles, I suppose, is the sexiest female echidna, you know?

In the movie, Knuckles’ character is based on some pretty little known lore about the Echidna clan and the Chaos Emerald. This is what inspired you to create his backstory.

It is simply a matter linking in as many mythologies as possible to the movie universe that will be familiar. It’s always a little bit of a balancing act, because we also have our own sort of movie mythology with stuff like Longclaw — in the backstory that is only specific to the movie universe. However, we try to integrate with the game canon whenever possible. There have been many takes over the past 30 years. [Sonic] across all the different games, the comics, the animated series; There’s just lots of variety in it.

What we loved about Knuckles’ original introduction, was the very simple concept of him being manipulated by Robotnik into thinking that Sonic was his adversary. And then of course, if you’re going to tell a Knuckles story, you got to have the Master Emerald in there as well, because those two concepts are a package deal. After you’ve identified the things you need, you can start to build your story. It’s great, because a lot of it kind of slots into place pretty quickly, just knowing that this is the mythology that fans know, and really enjoy seeing on the big screen.

Image from Paramount

The many versions of Knuckles that have been released since his debut in Sonic 3 game, how did you go about conceptualizing the Knuckles we’d see in Sonic 2? Which shows or games were you able to use as a point of departure?

I have not mentioned his introduction in any way, but I thought it important that the story and movie took him seriously. [Knuckles]He has certainly been used to comedy at his own expense many times. While we love the idea of that joke, I want to make it more serious. [Sonic]faced. Robotnik, as you can see, is there always and will be challenging. [Sonic] and that’s his sort of true arch nemesis. Sonic was already having trouble, so we added Knuckles to the fight. We thought he would be a very formidable opponent. Sonic loses most of the fights against Knuckles in the movie — [Sonic] doesn’t win any of them, right? And that’s because Knuckles has spent his whole life training for this mission and this purpose. He’s got this legacy. He’s the last of the echidnas and his whole whole purpose is to honor the legacy of the tribe and do what they could not do. It was very dramatic. This Sonic movie treated Knuckles very well, making him feel like a real badass.

Have you ever had Idris Elba recite the lines with his own voice? Did you ever find the Knuckles voice in his mouth?

It was evident that some workshops took place during the recording sessions to discover the character. I mean, obviously, Idris just has a very clear British accent and that felt a little bit at odds with the idea of Knuckles coming from this — I mean, primitive is not the right word, but that more kind of tribal-like background. There is a sophistication that sometimes can come along with a British accent, and it just felt like it couldn’t be only that. It was a fun process that involved a lot more playing with the system to find the best delivery and treatment. Idris was wonderful. Idris was great. He was open to trying many things. We just wanted to put it against animation to see what feels right.

Image from Paramount

Knuckles was mentioned as a punching box, but you wanted him more. How did Elba pull out Knuckles’ gentler side in this movie and flesh him out more as a character who felt full?

Idris plays a fantastic role. [has]Great instincts. I think he wanted the same thing that we all wanted for Knuckles: which is that he’s just a fully realized, fully dimensional character with an arc. You’re not rooting against [Knuckles] but he shows up and he kicks Sonic’s butt. So it’s like, What is the name of this man? I don’t know if I like this guy. Next, you will find out more about him. Learn more about Sonic’s backstory. He and Sonic are kind of like two sides to the same coin. It was a lot of drama material.

Your previous interview stated that Elba asked many questions about Knuckles. How many questions did Elba have about Knuckles when he thought of playing it?

Oh, it’s just who is it? What is the identity of this man? Which are his motives? Is he interested in what he does? That’s the same kind of question I think an actor would ask about any character they play. It’s identifying those core character details that help them inform their choices as actors.

I think once you understand Knuckles is not a bad guy, that he’s just inherited this mission from his ancestors, who might have been a little bit more flawed. They’re obviously a very much kind of warrior race, or warrior tribe — all about honor, all about duty. And, and so just as a kid being born into the system, he’s just inherited all of that. And so it doesn’t mean Knuckles is a bad person. It just means that Knuckles was basically forced into his current state without any input from him. If you’re born into an echidna tribe, it’s like a Spartan way of life. You’re going to be trained to fight and trained to be a warrior. You’ll also be trained to fight and become a warrior. [Idris]Knuckles just did that, and now he is focused solely on the mission. He’s all about duty. He’s all about honoring his ancestors. All of this is relatable, I believe. It’s very simple. It’s very simple. [Elba]It was something he understood fully and he wanted to inform his decisions.

Image: Paramount Pictures

I’m really interested in how seriously you took Knuckles as a character. How did Knuckles feel when you were directing the movie?

For sure. We had played with the story a bit, trying to figure out how we could help our audience feel connected. [Knuckles] and want him to overcome Robotnik’s deception. You just want him to understand the error of his ways, and get off the path he’s on, and realize that he’s partnered up with the wrong guy.

It was such a fun character knowing that we could bring him into the story, and really have him come in and bring something that we couldn’t before. Sonic and Robotnik are fighting, there is one type of music that you can play. […]Knuckles was a powerful character but we were able pit these two characters against each other to alter the course of action in some very interesting ways.

In the movie, Knuckles’ hands look really fluffy and soft, almost like he’s a stuffed animal. But then like he’s scaling walls and smashing through rocks. That’s why the team chose that design. Were there any rejected concepts for his Knuckles’ knuckles?

My most important skill was simply understanding silhouettes. Like looking at Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Tails, being able instantly to identify their personalities just from their silhouettes. That’s why we made Knuckles a little beefier, a little broader in the shoulders. It’s all information. This dude is an ace of brawls. He’s all about strength. Sonic and Knuckles can be seen side-by side […]We just wanted to feel that physical presence from the first time we looked at him.