The details:
- Speaking to One More Game as the franchise marks its 35th anniversary, Iizuka said: "During the worst times, I was told by the higher-ups that we should cancel the entire franchise. I had to fight within the organization to keep the franchise as long as possible."
- He credited the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie, released in 2020, as the decisive turning point: "The biggest milestone for me was the first movie. That had been a great hit and definitely changed the course of this franchise." The film was a major commercial and critical success after its famously controversial character redesign ahead of release, and went on to spawn a full franchise including sequels and the Knuckles Paramount+ series.
- Iizuka also revealed that Shadow the Hedgehog was originally meant to die at the end of Sonic Adventure 2 and not return. Fan demand for the character convinced Sega to bring him back in Sonic Heroes, and Iizuka — who says Shadow is his personal favourite character — noted his popularity has now risen to rival Sonic's own, partly driven by his role in the third movie. "I want to focus on him a little bit more," Iizuka added.
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