Roger Craig Smith, the Sonic the Hedgehog voice actor, appears to no longer be the voice of the character. He posted on Twitter on January 28, 2021 announcing the news. While vague, many elements of the message pointed to his role as Sonic. Update: Sega has confirmed it. [Thanks, NotLiquid on Resetera!]
First, Smith’s tweet mentioned “10 years was an amazing run.” He has been the Sonic voice actor since Sonic Colors in November 2010. He also referenced the series’ zones, posted a hedgehog emoji, and shared blue hearts, one of which was broken.
Here’s Smith’s note:
Welp, 10 years was an amazing run.
Onward to new zones!Much love to the fans who’ve been so kind.💙
It’s been an honor.
— Roger Craig Smith (@RogerCraigSmith) January 28, 2021
As a reminder, the Japanese Sonic voice actor wasn’t used in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Taishi Nakagawa voiced the character in the film, rather than Junichi Kanemaru. Smith voiced Sonic in various games, movies like Wreck-It Ralph, and shows like Sonic Boom. However, for the English version of the Sonic movie, Ben Schwartz voiced the character.
Sega hasn’t announced any new Sonic the Hedgehog games or spin-offs yet. However, a Netflix Sonic show is in development. In addition to his role as the Sonic voice actor, Roger Craig Smith is known for voicing Assassin’s Creed’s Ezio, Naruto’s Deidara, and Resident Evil’s Chris Redfield in games like Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6.
