Sonic the Hedgehog 2 star Jim Carrey explains why he doesn’t generally enjoy making sequels, believing they never catch the same spark as before. Carrey has enjoyed a celebrated career in Hollywood for the past 45 years, having first broken out with the fan-favorite sketch comedy series In Living Color. After landing supporting roles in a variety of films, Carrey’s big-screen career would take off in 1994 with the releases of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber, all of which were released to a variety of reviews but were box office smashes, making him a leading man.
Carrey would follow these up with the critically derided box office hit Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, the divisive Batman Forever, the cult favorite The Cable Guy, the well-received Liar Liar and his Golden Globe winning performances in The Truman Show and Man on the Moon. The turn of the millennia would prove to be a rollercoaster of successes and failures for Carrey, ranging from the critically acclaimed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Carrey has recently enjoyed a comeback with the Sonic the Hedgehog movies in which he plays the villainous Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik, returning for the upcoming sequel, though apparently this is out of the norm for the star.
Ahead of the film’s release this week, Jim Carrey caught up with ComicBook.com to discuss the highly anticipated Sonic the Hedgehog 2. When asked if there were any other characters from his past he would enjoy reprising, the actor not only indicated there were none, but also that he doesn’t generally like making sequels and explained why. See what Carrey said below:
“I don’t have any in mind that I would like to. Most of the time when you make something that really hits with people, the sequels have a diminishing return. If you do it long enough after the fact, you’re kind of imitating yourself now; you’re not using your original inspiration. These [Sonic] movies were made close together, and they were like an evolution that was being planned in my own head, at least, from the get-go.”
Carrey’s concerns about sequels living up to their predecessors is valid, namely in regards to his own movies. The second Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber movies he returned for were largely dismissed by critics while the follow-ups to The Mask and Bruce Almighty, in which he didn’t reprise his roles and the story served as spinoff sequels, were critical and commercial disasters. As Carrey notes, many of these sequels came long after their predecessors and felt like poor imitations of the originals versus a proper continuation of the characters and stories.
The actor’s discussion of why he avoids sequels and what he feels is different about Sonic the Hedgehog 2 comes on the heels of Jim Carrey revealing that he is planning to step away from acting after the video game movie sequel. With a Sonic the Hedgehog 3 currently in development, many are hoping the script for the threequel proves enticing enough for the Golden Globe winner to hold off on retiring for a little while longer to bring Dr. Robotnik back to the screen. In the meantime, audiences can look forward to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hitting theaters on Friday.
Key Release Dates
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Release Date:2022-04-08
