Tails Actor Responds To 'Sexy Knuckles' Controversy

Tails actor Colleen O'Shaughnessey has responded to the debate surrounding Idris Elba's Knuckles; more specifically, whether he should be sexy or not.

The Luther star's casting as Knuckles is bang on the money: the red, spiky-fisted echidna is a reclusive figure; a loner but also incredibly loyal and one of the fiercest fighters on Angel Island.

He's strong, striking and cool - but Elba made it clear from the outset that he wasn't trying to make the character 'sexy' in his performance. The response from the Sonic fandom was one of extraordinary thirst.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 sees the return of the blue speedster (Ben Schwartz), his human pals (James Marsden and Tika Sumpter), and the return of the villainous Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), sporting a brand new stache from his time on the Mushroom Planet.

SEGA's hero has company this time: he's joined by Tails (O'Shaughnessey) with his bi-plane; and Robotnik has enlisted the help of Knuckles in his search for the Master Emerald, clearly taking inspiration from the third game.

Ahead of the film's release, UNILAD sat down with O'Shaughnessey to chat about Sonic, the franchise's legacy and, yes, the 'sexy Knuckles' controversy.

Shortly after he was cast, Elba told Screen Rant he wasn't planning to bring any sex appeal to the role. "I wouldn’t say he was sexy. I don’t think I’m going for that. That’s for sure," he said.

When the voice of Tails caught sight of the discourse, she was 'surprised'.

"Maybe because it’s Idris and he’s kind of a sexy guy, that’s why the question came up. I don’t know," she said.

"My experience with Knuckles in the past, certainly on Sonic Boom, he was just a big dumb doofus and he was my favourite, I loved him, he was hilarious.

"So, when that came up, I was like, ‘Huh, well, I guess that’s one way to think of him’, but I never did. But you know, the thing is… people go crazy online."

If you're unfamiliar with the debate, I implore you search 'sexy Knuckles' on Twitter, where you'll find fierce defences of the echidna's sex appeal, and maybe even some especially scarlet cheeks.

We demand sexy Knuckles pic.twitter.com/uOoX9NlDQd

— Justin Whang 🐙 (@JustinWhang) October 26, 2021

Speaking to Comic Book, director Jeff Fowler commented on the reaction, saying there are 'some things you just can't anticipate'.

"I love it so much, and my wife just loves it so much. Last night, she's literally just passing me her phone and just pulling up all these sexy Knuckles," he said.

"It's hilarious and wonderful and perfect. So yeah. No one could have expected that that would be a line of conversation happening out there, but I'm very glad that it is."

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 speeds into cinemas on Friday, 1 April.

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