Sonic the Hedgehog Ending Explained

Warning! This article spoils the ending of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Turn away now if you haven’t seen it! 

Sonic the Hedgehog ends on a beautifully happy note. Sonic has finally found a family and even has a room of his own. All is well, right? Well not exactly. It’s not a huge sequel tease but some of the films final scenes do leave us with a few questions.

What Happened To Robotnik?

Robotnik’s final scene shows him on the Mushroom Planet that Sonic had been referencing throughout the film. It seems he’s been there for several months, as his mustache has grown to comical (and accurate to the games!) length. He’s gone a little more insane since we last saw him and has given a rock the name “Stone,” the same as his assistant on Earth.

His attempts to escape may seem futile but he’s got one advantage, Sonic’s quill. Those quills have incredible energy and if he’s able to scrounge up some tech on the Mushroom Planet? He might make it back to Earth in time for a sequel!

We discussed the Mushroom Planet and how it’s one of the films many nods to the Sonic games in our easter egg guide that you can find here.

Sonic Mid-Credits Scene: Tails!

Stick around for the credits, everyone! Out of one of the portals comes Sonic’s longtime companion, Tails! It sounds like he’s been looking for Sonic for quite awhile. This leads to some questions about Tails’ backstory in relation to the rest of the film.

Did Sonic know Tails back on Sonic’s home planet? In the games, TV shows, and comics Tails is often portrayed as being younger than Sonic. If that were the case in the film universe, how would he have known Sonic? Sonic was a kid (dare we say, a baby) when he was forced to flee from the Echidnas. Tails would have been too young or not even born yet, right?

Perhaps this version of Tails is the same age as Sonic and they were friends. Another possibility is that Longclaw survived the Echidna attack and has been desperately searching for Sonic. Tails has often been portrayed as a tech genius so it makes sense that he’d be the one to try and find Sonic.

Tails’ inclusion hints that a lot has gone down on Sonic’s planet in his absence and we hope it’ll be addressed if a sequel gets made!

Thanks to SuperSonicEx on Twitter we learned that Colleen O’Shaughnessey did voice Tails in this scene! She’s the current voice for Tails, having provided his voice in the Sonic Boom animated series. It’s amazing they brought her in for this film and hopefully, if we get a sequel, she’ll make another appearance!

Shamus Kelley is a pop culture/television writer and official Power Rangers expert. Follow him on Twitter! He also co-hosts a Robotech podcast, which covers the original series and the new comics. Give it a listen! Read more articles by him here!