Roger Craig Smith has announced he is no longer voicing Sonic the Hedgehog, after voicing the character for ten years.
The reason for this was unclear, as Smith offered little in his message on Twitter. Whether the ending of his contract was amicable or otherwise, it is likely NDAs will prevent us from every knowing the truth.
“Welp, 10 years was an amazing run.
Onward to new zones!Much love to the fans who’ve been so kind. [Blue Heart Emoji]
It’s been an honor.”
[Hedgehog Emoj]
The tweet also included the image of a broken blue heart.
Smith had voiced Sonic since 2010, starting with Sonic Colors and Sonic Free Riders. He would voice him in Sonic Generations, the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series since 2012, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Sonic: Lost World, the Sonic Boom CG cartoon and tie-in games, Sonic Forces, Team Sonic Racing, and “Twitter takeover” events on the games’ official Twitter account.
He also voiced Sonic in cameos and guest appearance roles in Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet, the Super Smash Bros. series since 2014, and OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes. The latter featured an entire episode dedicated to the blue-blur, along with plenty of references to past Sonic media.
Smith’s other best-known voice acting roles include Chris Redfield in the Resident Evil series, and Ezio Auditore Da Firenze in Assassin’s Creed II. He also voiced Dr. Nitrus Brio in Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, Diamondhead in Ben 10, Captain American in several Marvel cartoons, and Biba in Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress.
In earlier news, a business-to-business advert for Sonic the Hedgehog confirmed new games will be revealed in 2021 for the series’ 30th anniversary; along with a wave of new merchandise. As such, the new voice actor for Sonic may soon be revealed, assuming recording lines for the video game and subsequent trailers will begin soon.
Who do you want to be the next voice of Sonic? Sound off in the comments below!
UPDATE: Sega have now offered official comment by way of the series’ official Twitter account.
“For over 10 years, Roger Craig Smith has been an integral part of the SEGA family. He brought the voice of Sonic to life, and we are forever grateful for his never-ending enthusiasm in helping the community and spreading joy.
Thank you, Roger, for all you’ve done for Sonic.”
The story lead to speculation if other voice actors would be replaced, including the allegation that Dr. Eggman voice actor Mike Pollock would have to re-audition for the role. However, Pollock dismissed the rumors.
Pollock shared an image of payroll management website Gusto, which featured a link discussing unemployment. The tweet‘s message read “See, this is how rumors get started….” It should be noted that voice acting work is typically freelance, including in Pollock’s case.
In short, Pollock did reveal had finished a role for an audio drama, but could offer no more information than that [1, 2]. The original tweet was seemingly to entrap those who had spread the rumors of him no longer being the voice of Eggman in the first place.
“I deliberately didn’t give enough information so as to fuel the inevitable speculation,” Pollock tweeted. “What makes you think this is from the one client of mine that interests you?”
Pollock also discouraged Twitter users from speculation without full knowledge, including when said information could not be shared, or making a biased conclusion from what they held dearest to them [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. “If speculation results in mis-aiming the finger of blame,” Pollock explained, “that can’t end well.” This may be referring to how some assumed Smith had been fired from his role.
“The most confusing part of this is whether or not this is a good joke, or a maddening lesson on misinformation online,” one user tweeted. Pollock replied “Are they mutually exclusive?“
Image: YouTube
