"What we're trying to do with Sonic is make a movie about a small-town police officer and Sonic at a time when they are both desperately in need of a friend, and we hope that this theme is friendship is what gives the film its heart and makes it prosper."
After Sony let the film rights lapse, Paramount picked up the project in October, five months into Gianopulos' reign as the studio's new CEO. After Moritz pitched the Sonic project with a three-minute test scene, Gianopulos said that he saw potential in the "quasi-juvenile delinquent" hedgehog.