Ahead of the first trailer dropping this week, an all-new poster has been released for the anticipated sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Along with the returns of Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic and Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, the sequel also brings in Sonic's pal Tails with Colleen O'Shaughnessey in the role. All three are featured in the brand new poster high above the ground, with Tails piloting a plane and the mustachioed villain hovering in his own aircraft close behind.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is directed by Jeff Fowler with a screenplay from Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington; Casey and Miller crafted the story. Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Toru Nakahara, and Hitoshi Okuno produced the sequel, while Haruki Satomi, Yukio Sugino, Shuji Utsumi, Nan Morales, and Tim Miller executive produced.

Ben Schwartz and Jim Carrey aren't the only returning cast members. James Marsden and Tika Sumpter also return as the Wachowskis, the couple they played in the first movie, and Lee Majdoub is back as Agent Stone. Other cast members include Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, and Shemar Moore. It was also announced that Idris Elba will provide the voice of Knuckles the Echidna, confirming the video game character's involvement in the movie sequel. When asked about his role in the sequel by Screen Rant, Elba previously said, "Honestly, I cannot say. Contractually, I cannot say anything. But I wouldn’t say he was sexy. I don’t think I’m going for that. That’s for sure”.

From the movie's copyright listing, a synopsis for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 reads, "After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is ready for more freedom, and Tom and Maddie agree to leave him home while they go on vacation. But, no sooner are they gone, when Dr. Robotnik comes back, this time with a new partner, Knuckles, in search for an emerald that has the power to both build and destroy civilizations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, and together they embark on a journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands."

"For this first film, we really were just looking at the 1991 game and just see where it all started and just keep it simple," Jeff Fowler previously said of the plans for the sequel. "Just really try to nail Sonic and Robotnik and just set up their rivalry because you don't... I mean, I love... There's a lot of great characters in the Sonic universe, but it's the most important thing is just to get Sonic set up and just tell a little bit of an origin story with him, and just do it in a way that really makes everyone fall in love with him as a character and just be rooting for more. And then, if all that goes well, then we can kind of open it up and bring in some of these other characters that fans know and love. And yeah, I mean, no one's more excited than me to have that opportunity."

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is scheduled to be released in movie theaters on April 8, 2022. Jim Carrey and Ben Schwartz will be present at The Game Awards on Dec. 9 to unveil the official trailer. You can watch the event at TheGameAwards.com.