MLB The Show 21: How To Sign Up For PlayStation/Xbox Tech Test

Xbox and PlayStation players can now sign-up for a chance to participate in a Tech Test for MLB The Show 21, which will take place later this month.

If you want to check out the game a bit early, you can sign up for a chance to participate in a Tech Test that will be held from February 23 at 10 AM PT to March 1 at 10 AM PT. If you are selected, you will receive a notification on whichever console you signed up for. Players will be able to download the Tech Test before the servers go live, so you can prepare in advance if need be. To do so, you simply have to consent to the Tech Test Agreement and connect either your PSN or Xbox account.

The Test itself will feature four game modes you can experiment with: (Diamond Dynasty) vs CPU, (Diamond Dynasty) Events, (Diamond Dynasty) Casual, (Diamond Dynasty) Play with Friends; Battle Royale. But don’t get too used to what you find while playing these modes. None of your items, stats, or progress will transfer over if you get the game at launch. The player attributes you encounter while playing in the Tech Test will also not be the final versions we’ll see in the release version.

Those who are selected for the Tech Test are going to have to keep the experience relatively under wraps. Discussion and feedback about the Test will be kept in a private forum for selected participants only, which will open slightly before the test servers go live on February 22. Additionally, testers will not be allowed to stream or share photos/videos from the Tech Test. Doing so could result in your account being suspended from this and possibly future tests or releases of the game.

MLB The Show 21 releases April 20 and is available to preorder now.

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Ys IX: Monstrum Nox Review

Adol Christin, the protagonist of Falcom’s long-lived Ys series, is a real adventurer’s adventurer. He’s been drifting from place to place since his journey began on Japanese PCs in 1987, collecting tales, meeting new people, and getting caught up in towns’ supernatural business. In Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, Adol blows into the town of Balduq and discovers a particularly dark secret seething in its depths. His trouble is our gain: Ys IX is yet another deeply satisfying action RPG starring the red-haired sword-swinger. It has a lot in common with 2016’s Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, but avoids feeling like “just more of the same” thanks to new abilities that make exploration fast, frantic, and fun.

Unlike more serialized RPGs such as Trails of Cold Steel, it’s easy to jump into Ys games because the story’s mostly self-contained. Granted, there are a few jokes and references in Ys IX that are clearly for long-time fans, but the premise is simple: The story opens with Adol being arrested for his many, many crimes against the far-reaching Romun Empire, and his lack of surprise at the arrest is honestly funny. His interrogation, where he’s grilled about certain Ys series’ tropes (“Why do ships seem to sink when you’re on them? How do you keep losing priceless historical relics?”) is also great. I laughed out loud when Adol acquired one of Ys IX’s legendary swords, and one of the dialogue options was, “I’m going to lose this, aren’t I?”

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During his escape, Adol ends up afflicted with a “curse” – and an honestly badass wardrobe to go along with it. He’s a “Monstrum” now, and is henceforth known as “The Crimson King.” (Is that a prog rock reference or a callout to Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series? You make the call!) If he wishes to know the reason behind it, he must uncover the secret seething in the heart of Balduq’s enormous prison. Thus begins a heck of a lot of sword-swinging.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=Ys%20XI’s%20familiarity%20isn’t%20boring.”]In that respect, Ys IX is an action RPG that – to reiterate a previous point – looks and plays similarly to the excellent Ys VIII. While Ys VIII added a whole new literal dimension to the series by bringing it into the 3D realm, IX doesn’t have the same level of novelty, but its familiarity isn’t boring. Hacking up foes across sprawling plains, ancient ruins, and lava-filled caverns to name a few is a good deal of satisfying fun, even if the environments outside of town are a bit visually bland.

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It’s a while before you’re allowed to see those locations, though, because a hefty chunk of Ys IX’s roughly 30 hours of story takes place within the city of Balduq. I was initially a little bored, but my outlook changed when Adol gained his earliest Monstrum “Gifts” – and these new movement powers are where Ys IX begins to feel different from its predecessor. Crimson Line lets him grapple from rooftop to rooftop, Hunter’s Descent lets him glide, and Heaven’s Run lets him run straight up walls. (“Hardcore Parkour!”) These early gifts alone let Adol Batman the hell out of Balduq – yes, I’m using “Batman” as a verb – and it became much easier to appreciate my time in the sprawling city. Gifts are employed in battle, too: Crimson Line zips you directly into an enemy’s face, for example. (All the better to stab your eyes out, my dear.)

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=For%20more%20of%20a%20challenge%20%E2%80%93%20and%20a%20deeper%20game%20%E2%80%93%20I%20recommend%20cranking%20the%20difficulty%20up.”]Fans of musou games like Dynasty Warriors will probably find themselves right at home in the moment-to-moment hacking and slashing your way through hordes of enemies. But like Dynasty Warriors, the combat in Ys IX isn’t particularly deep or challenging, and Ys IX is a pretty quick game by JRPG standards as a consequence. For more of a challenge – and a deeper game – I recommend cranking the difficulty up. You still aren’t going to get Souls-like battles or anything, but the harder monsters encourage you to learn patterns and use the cool and satisfying Flash Guard parry that slows down time after a perfect dodge.

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I personally took a little bit of extra time to wrap up quests and procure knick-knacks that can be used to upgrade weapons and create gifts for my comrades, and combined with exploration of the corners of the map that added a few more hours to my playtime.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=I%20was%20inspired%20to%20solve%20Balduq’s%20problems%20and%20help%20out%20Adol’s%20new%20pals.”]Ys games usually come with their fair share of fun characters and a compelling story, but I was surprised at how invested I was in Ys events and characters. Mind, one of the characters, the Monstrum code-named Feral Hawk, is a bog-standard edgelord who just wants to swear and fight, but I enjoyed my time with the rest of the cast. I particularly have soft spots for the sweet and shy White Cat and the sickly but determined Renegade. Adol’s new friends play key roles in many of Ys IX’s subquests, which are refreshingly meaty despite being short, and are often tied into Ys IX’s overarching plot. While the main story challenges you to uncover Balduq’s strange secrets, the subquests focus more on a budding revolution within the nation against its Romun occupiers. However, the revolution’s old guard isn’t happy with the way the hot-headed young revolutionaries are conducting themselves. (The revolution’s former leader, a cigar-smoking octogenarian named Margot, is awesome.) Ys IX’s story isn’t as deep as what you’ll find in a Trails of Cold Steel game, but I was inspired to solve Balduq’s problems and help out Adol’s new pals.

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The friends Adol makes in Ys IX become important during the Grimwald Nox, a tower defense minigame that pops up at key story moments. The name is new but the concept isn’t: these missions are very similar to the base defense minigame in Ys VIII, right down to your rescued friends cheering you on and offering stat buffs and heals. You also use monster loot to craft defenses like canons and towers that inflict invaders with status ailments like sleep and poison to soften them up before you jump into combat. It still doesn’t feel fully fleshed out as a tower defense game, since you can’t freely decide where these defensive tools should be placed, which means there’s not a lot of strategy to be had in the Grimwald Nox. But there is a lot of intense swordplay as waves of demons bear down on you, hell-bent on destroying the Sphene crystal that must be protected. Once I learned that you shouldn’t skimp on beefing up the Grimwald Nox’s defenses (seriously, don’t), I started having a lot of fun in these twisted, monster-infested dimensions. You can just turn off your brain and put yourself on “auto” while you cut into monsters and collect their loot drops. It feels good, and hey, it’s cheaper than therapy.

Unfortunately, the busy Nox battles make it easy to spot one of Ys IX’s drawbacks: frame rate drops in busy areas, especially in the Coliseum region of Balduq, some of which persisted even after the launch patches. I also noticed texture pop-in, and a full-on game crash during one Grimwald Nox battle. I didn’t lose too much progress thanks to Ys IX’s robust auto-save system, but it’s always a bummer when PlayStation 4’s Blue Screen of Death puts a sudden end to your fun.

HBO Max’s Jean Smart Series Doesn’t Have A Name Yet, But There’s A Good Reason Why

The untitled Jean Smart series coming to HBO Max does not have an official title, and it’s just months away from debuting on the streaming service. The series follows a young stand-up comedian who lands a job writing jokes for an older comedian who works nightly in Las Vegas.

During the TCA winter press tour, the cast discussed the upcoming show where they delved into why the series doesn’t have a name yet. “I think part of what the challenge has been for a title is [that] the show really is trying to say so much at once,” explained executive producer and series creator Lucia Aniello. “And I think to try to summarize so many different things with just one or two or three words is an interesting exercise, and I think we’re in the middle of that exercise right now.

“But the show is obviously about a larger-than-life person, Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), and it also has a two handedness to it, but it also has an ensembleness to it as well. There’s just so much that we want to say and so to kind of boil it down into just a quickie kind of a title is an interesting process, and I think we really are just trying to find something that feels like it represents what the show is.”

The content of the series is obviously more important than the title–but a catchy title sure can grab viewers. The series follows legendary comedian Deborah Vance who forms a dark mentorship with Ava (Hannah Einbinder), a 25-year-old writer who ends up writing for Vance.

“Deborah’s sort of on automatic pilot a bit, when we first meet her, which is why Paul (W. Downs)–who plays my manager–has insisted that I meet with this young person to punch up my act a little bit, which of course I resent because Deborah’s always done her own writing,” said Smart.

And neither of these characters–Deborah and Ava–can agree on what’s funny because comedy is subjective, and it’s all about the point of view of these characters. “Ava’s point-of-view is that if the masses thinks something is funny, then it’s not cool,” Smart continued. “And if the masses like it, you know, if the people from Florida who eat at Panera like it, it’s not funny.”

Einbinder is exceptionally familiar with the world of stand-up, as a comedian herself. “I take a swing at it up there,” Einbinder said. “I try my best, and I bomb, and I do well sometimes. It is an unmasterable craft. You can never be a perfect stand-up comedian.”

While the show has the backbone of stand-up comedy, it is much more about Deborah and Ava’s life off the stage and the relationship between these two characters from two very different generations. The show also features Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Candyman), Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia), Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore), Paul W. Downs (Rough Night), Mark Indelicato (Ugly Betty), Poppy Liu (Better Call Saul), and more. The series is created by Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky, with Downs and Aniello serving as executive producers alongside Michael Schur, David Miner, and Morgan Sackett.

It was a big announcement day for HBO and HBO Max. The limited series Mare of Eastdown had a presentation where actor Kate Winslet discussed trying to tackle the very specific Delco accent.

The Mandalorian’s Gina Carano Faces Backlash Over Social Media Posts, Again

Actress Gina Carano is facing a backlash on social media over recent posts, including one that compared modern-day political disagreements to Nazi Germany.

Variety reports that the star stirred controversy on social media by sharing an Instagram post, suggesting that hating someone for their political views is akin to Germans hating Jewish citizens in 1930s Germany. The post had originally appeared on another account, but Carano’s sharing of it sparked controversy.

“Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors…even by children,” the post read. “Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views.”

Another recent post seemed to make light of masking in light of coronavirus regulations. Both of those were removed. Others that share controversial or conspiratorial views have remained, including one that simply says, “Jeff Epstein didn’t kill himself.”

This latest round of controversy has renewed calls to drop her from The Mandalorian, inspiring a #FireGinaCarano hashtag.

Carano has inspired backlash before, having altered her Twitter bio in a way that was seen as making light of using a person’s gender-affirming pronouns. She later removed that from her Twitter bio, saying that her Mandalorian co-star Pedro Pascal helped her understand the purpose of them.

Carano’s character on The Mandalorian, Cara Dune, has appeared semi-regularly across both seasons. She was a bigger part of the second season, appearing in multiple episodes and factoring into the season finale conflict. There has also been speculation that Cara Dune will be a major part of the spin-off show Rangers of the New Republic, given that the character became a New Republic Ranger in the course of the show.

American Horror Story Season 10: Release Date, Filming, And Everything Else We Know

One of the best things about American Horror Story is its self-contained nature. True, there are thematic continuities from season-to-season, and Season 8: Apocalypse was a crossover event that required having watched prior seasons to fully appreciate. But for the most part, the anthology concept holds up. Every new season, creator Ryan Murphy and his rotating, repertory cast have the opportunity to expand their audience. And if you’re not feeling it? There will be another season, and a completely different story the following year.

We just finished Season 9: 1984–an earnest celebration of slasher tropes that unfortunately did not feature Sarah Paulson, Jessica Lange, or Evan Peters. Here is everything we know so far about the upcoming American Horror Story: Season 10.

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1. When will it air?

American Horror Story: Season 10 will air in 2021. No specific date has been announced beyond that. It only began filming on December 2, 2020, due to delays from the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. What’s the season’s theme?

The season’s theme has not been officially announced, although there has been some pretty convincing speculation. In an interview with TV Guide, Murphy said that there would be a big clue about Season 10’s theme in Episode 8 of Season 9: 1984. Fans subsequently picked up on an in-show discussion about cryptozoology–the study of scientifically dubious creatures like werewolves, dragons, Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster. Perhaps these sorts of mythological creatures will figure largely into the new storyline.

3. Which actors are new?

The most notable new face on the cast is Maucaulay Culkin (Home Alone). He will be playing a role that, according to him, allows him to have “crazy, erotic sex” with Kathy Bates’ character. So that’ll be something to look forward to.

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4. Which actors are returning?

Murphy has the advantage of a massive repertory cast, many of whom have worked with him for years and know how he operates. Both Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters are slated to return this season and will join other American Horror Story veterans like Kathy Bates, Billie Lourd, Adina Porter, and Lily Rabe.

5. Where is the filming taking place?

Filming has already begun in Provincetown, MA and will continue into March. The location has led some fans to theorize that Season 10 will address the Lady of the Dune, an murder victim who was discovered in Provincetown in 1974. Both the victim and the murderer remain unidentified.

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6. Are there any trailers or preview photos?

There is no trailer, but Murphy has been posting teaser images and gifs on his social media. He uploaded an image of sharp teeth, which comes up as “siren teeth” in an image search according to Redditors. This reinforces the cryptozoology theory. And combined with the ocean imagery in other teasers, perhaps Season 10 is about mermaids? We’ll have to wait (and keep checking Murphy’s Instagram) to see.

Charisma Carpenter Calls Out Joss Whedon’s “Harassment,” Buffy Cast Responds

Charisma Carpenter, who is best known for her role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, is speaking out about the show’s creator, Joss Whedon, for the first time, alleging he “abused his power on numerous occasions.” Her comments are a direct response to Justice League star Ray Fisher, who has been very vocal about his alleged treatment by Whedon on that movie’s set, and the investigation that followed.

The allegations came in the form of two tweets from the actress, who played Cordelia Chase on both shows. In the tweets, Carpenter reveals she took part in WarnerMedia’s investigation into Whedon’s behavior. “I participated in WarnerMedia’s Justice League investigation because I believe Ray to be a person of integrity who is telling his truth,” she tweeted. “His firing as Cyborg in The Flash was the last straw for me. Although I am not shocked, I am deeply pained by it.”

As for her own treatment by Whedon, Carpenter said the experience still impacts her. “For nearly two decades, I have held my tongue and even made excuses for certain events that traumatize me to this day,” she wrote. “Joss Whedon abused his power on numerous occasions while working together on the sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. While he found his misconduct amusing, it only serves to intensify my performance anxiety, disempower me, and alienate me from my peers. The disturbing incidents triggered a chronic physical condition from which I still suffer. It is with a beating, heavy heart that I say I coped in isolation and, at times, destructively.”

Carpenter’s allegations largely center around her first pregnancy, while a member of the Angel cast. She claims Whedon once called her into a closed-door meeting to ask if she was “going to keep it” and called her “fat” in front of colleagues. He also, according to Carpenter, “proceeded to attack my character, mock my religious beliefs, accuse me of sabotaging the show, and then unceremoniously fired me the following season once I gave birth.”

The actress also explained why she didn’t stand up for herself at the time. “Back then, I felt powerless and alone,” she wrote. “With no other option, I swallowed the mistreatment and carried on. After all, I had a baby on the way and was the primary breadwinner of my growing family.”

She also admits to making excuses for his behavior. “Despite the harassment, a part of me still sought his validation,” she said.

Shortly after Carpenter’s statement, members of the Buffy cast quickly responded on social media. Amber Benson, who played Tara on the series, wrote, “Buffy was a toxic environment and it starts at the top. [Charisma Carpenter] is speaking truth and I support her 100%. There was a lot of damage done during that time and many of us are still processing it twenty plus years later.”

Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, also responded to the allegations on Instagram. “While I am proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I don’t want to be forever associated with the name Joss Whedon,” she wrote. “I am more focused on raising my family and surviving a pandemic currently, so I will not be making any further statements at this time. but I stand with all survivors of abuse and am proud of them for speaking out.”

Michelle Trachtenberg reposted Gellar’s comments, adding, “I am brave enough now as a 35 year old woman….To repost this. Because. This must. Be known. As a teenager. With his not appropriate behavior….very. Not. Appropriate.”

Lastly, Fisher, too, reacted to Carpenter’s statement, writing, “Charisma Carpenter is one of the bravest people I know. I am forever grateful for her courage and for her lending her voice to the Justice League investigation. Read her truth. Share her truth. Protect her at all costs.”

The investigation Carpenter took part in was closed on December 11, with WarnerMedia saying “remedial action” had been taken. In late November, Whedon exited the HBO series he was set to serve as showrunner on, The Nevers. Meanwhile, Fisher will be seen once more as Cyborg in Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League, which arrived on HBO Max in March. He was originally slated to play a role in The Flash standalone film but revealed in January that he’d been written out of the project.

Image credit: Getty Images/John Sciulli/Stringer

Resident Evil Village’s Lady Dimitrescu Was Based On Morticia Addams And Other Wicked Women

In an interview with IGN, Resident Evil Village art director Tomonori Takano elaborated on how the design for Lady Dimitrescu came to be. The team started with the concept of a “bewitching vampire” and went on to pull inspiration from several femme fatales including Anjelica Huston’s Morticia Addams, Japanese urban legend Hashaku-sama, and 16th-century Hungarian noblewoman/serial killer Elizabeth Báthory.

“In the early stages of planning, we decided on going with [a] castle and vampires motifs,” Tomori told IGN. “However, we did not want to be constrained by how vampires have been portrayed in various forms of popular entertainment.”

It’s true that the internet’s favorite Big Lady™ doesn’t really look like your traditional vampire babe. While her daughters certainly have a Dracula’s Mistresses vibe about them, Lady Dimitrescu’s aesthetic feels more like something out of a 1920’s period film. Not to mention, her staggering size definitely sets her apart from other vampire royalty. “The very first piece of concept art I drew was the scene in the trailer where Lady Dimitrescu ducks down to walk through the doorway,” Takano said. “From that moment, I knew I had to do that scene.”

But it’s not just that which sets her apart. Lady Dimitrescu, like the women she’s patterned after, may be scary, but she’s also elegant. While her daughters are repeatedly shown to be covered in gore, the lady of the house always looks pristine–even when she’s skewering your skull. This was intentional from the art direction team. Tanako said that they didn’t want to “lean too heavily into gothic horror designs for the entire village,” and that they had purposefully included “elements of the Great Depression-era into the overall design.”

The RE team put research into how effective their character designs actually were to make sure they were keeping with the new direction Resident Evil 7 took. “We analyzed the characters and elements in the Resident Evil series so far to see if they were truly scary,” Tanako said. “Or if they had become so conventional that they lost their effectiveness in scaring players.”

Series longtime producer Jun Takeuchi agreed saying: “If we want people to be scared, we need to think beyond the stereotypical zombies.” As the internet’s reaction has shown, a gigantic and murderous vampire with a Prohibition-era flare is certainly a step in an interesting new direction for the series.

Now Playing: Maiden – Full Resident Evil Village Demo

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How to Get the Fortnite Flash Skin Before It Arrives in the Item Shop

The Flash is finally coming to Fortnite. He was scheduled to arrive on Saturday, February 13 according to an announcement from Epic Games but instead, The Flash chose to enter the “Loop” early in hopes of scoping out the competition for The Flash Cup.

What is the Flash Cup in Fortnite?

Starting at 3pm PT/ 6pm ET/ 11pm GMT on February 10, the Flash Cup is a duos tournament where players can team up with a friend to compete in a maximum of 10 matches within three hours for a chance to win The Flash skin and The Speed Force back bling. In order to compete, players must have an account level of 30 and have two-factor authentication enabled.

For more specific timing for each region, we suggest checking the Compete Tab while in-game.

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How to Unlock The Flash Skin

The top-performing duos in each region will not only unlock The Flash outfit but also the Speed Force back bling. To do so, they’ll need to beat out the competition by earning the most points within The Flash Cup’s 3-hour time slot.

  • Victory Royale: 42 Points
  • Second: 36 points
  • Third: 32 points
  • Fourth: 30 points
  • Fifth: 29 points
  • As placement drops from here, amount of points earned goes down by one

According to the Flash Cup rules on the Epic Games site, A Victory Royale will net you the most points. Reaching the top two, three, and so forth, follows in descending order. Getting a victory isn’t the only way to score points though, as each elimination (worth 1 point each) also adds to your total. The following rank placements will qualify you for The Flash outfit and back bling prize:

North America East

  • 1st – 1,750th

North America West

  • 1st – 500th

Europe

  • 1st – 3,500th

When Will The Flash Set Be in the Item Shop?

Don’t worry. If you aren’t one of the top teams, you can still nab The Flash before he dashes away. On February 13th, he’ll be available for purchase in the Fortnite Item Shop starting at 3pm PT/7pm ET and the following day at 12am GMT. Epic Games will also release The Flash Set, which includes:

  • The Flash Skin
  • The Speed Force Slasher Pickaxe
  • The Speed Force Back Bling
  • The Quick Bite Emote

The Flash is the latest licensed character to join Fortnite this season. And while he wasn’t introduced via the battle pass, his presence helps in highlighting a prolific roster. With heroes and villains like the Mandalorian, Predator, Terminator, and so on, there’s no telling who’ll be joining Fortnite next.

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Kenneth Seward Jr. is a freelance writer, editor, and illustrator who covers games, movies, and more. Follow him @kennyufg and on Twitch.

Sonic’s Movie Voice Actor, Ben Schwartz, Has Not Been Approached For The Games

After 10 years behind the microphone, Roger Craig Smith is finished voicing Sonic the Hedgehog in Sega’s video games. Who will take over? That remains to be seen, but now actor Ben Schwartz, who voiced Sonic in Paramount’s movie, said he has not been approached to do it.

Speaking to ComicBook, Schwartz said he hasn’t given it any thought because the role had been Smith’s for so long. Now that Smith is ending his run, the question about who will replace him has come up and entered his mind, but no one has approached Schwartz about the job.

“The first time that it’s ever come up was because Roger seems to be stepping away, so, the first time ever, people are asking me I wonder, nobody’s asked me, between you and I, I haven’t really answered this question yet but nobody’s come up to me and said anything so my assumption is that, who knows?” he said. “But I wonder.”

Schwartz said he loves the Sonic universe and the fans, who he says have been supportive to him in his movie role.

“I wonder what would happen. But as of now, nobody’s had a conversation with me about any of that,” Schwartz said.

The actor also took some time to praise Smith for the job he did voicing Sonic.

“Roger Craig Smith is an absolute legend,” Schwartz said. “Like, his VO work, Sonic being one of them, but his career is unbelievable for a VO artist. He is so talented.”

Schwartz also told ComicBook in a separately published interview, which was published before Paramount’s announcement of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on Wednesday, that he’s excited to reprise his role in the sequel. “I read the script and it’s awesome,” he said, going on to say that he doesn’t know precisely when production will begin.

Schwartz’s next project is the superhero comedy Flora & Ulysses, which comes to Disney+ on February 19. Schwartz plays the father of a little girl, Flora, who befriends a squirrel, Ulysses, who is a superhero.