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This certainly came out of nowhere – a source has tipped us off that Dave Polsky, writer for such TV shows and movies like South Park, Frank TV, Scary Movie, and My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, was dropping hints at the Ohio-based My-Little-Pony-themed convention Trotcon that he was currently writing episodes for a new Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon under the name of “Sonic Boom“. For what it’s worth, Sonic Boom is even listed in his Featured Guests profile on the Trotcon website:

Dave Polsky

His credits range from features (Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2) to animation (South Park, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sonic Boom, Class of 3000) to sitcoms (Pair of Kings) to late night (The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show) to daytime (The Donny and Marie Show) to sketch comedy (Frank TV, Cedric the Entertainer Presents). Add that to the fact that he got his start in game shows (Singled Out) and you have a textbook case of a) versatility or b) terrible career management… take your pick. Dave created and executive produced Disney’s The Buzz on Maggie, in addition to writing other pilots for Disney Channel, FOX, CBS, Castle Rock Entertainment, and Nickelodeon.

Moments ago at his Trotcon Q&A Panel, Polsky revealed more information about “Sonic Boom” – we’re still waiting to see if our source can elaborate more, but early reports indicate that it is a “Pony-esque reboot of the cartoon series”. What, exactly, that means is currently a mystery – Sonic has had no shortage of cartoons over the years, and each one of them involves completely different settings and supporting characters. Any one of them could be rebooted, and it’s worth mentioning that one of Polsky’s contributions to MLP was, apparently, writing music for an episode, so not even Sonic Underground is out of the question at this time.

Right now, you know about as much as we do. We’ll have more on this as it develops.

UPDATE: Our source has offered more information now that the panel is over regarding “Sonic Boom”. All Polsky would say is that it involves Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy Rose, and would lean towards “comedic in style”, making it sound unconnected to any previous Sonic cartoon.

Stay tuned!

Sonic the Hedgehog, the iconic video game character who has brought his trademark speed and attitude to four TV series and more than 70 video games, is returning to television in his first-ever CG animated series in the fall 2014. The action packed comedy series aimed at children 6-11 will debut first on Cartoon Network in the U.S. and on CANAL J and GULLI in France, with a global rollout to follow. The initial order of 52 eleven-minute episodes is co-produced by SEGA of America Inc. and Genao Productions.

Sonic Boom is a character-driven comedy that leaves a trail of robot wreckage in its smoldering wake. The series centers on Sonic, his best friend and sidekick, Tails, their never-ending search for adventure, and their battles with Sonic’s arch-nemesis, Dr. Eggman. Rounding out the ensemble are fan favorites Knuckles and Amy Rose, plus a rogue’s gallery of enemies—some familiar to Sonic fans and some brand-new.

Evan Baily, Donna Friedman Meir, and Jane McGregor, Executive Producers for SEGA, packaged the series, bringing together SEGA, Cartoon Network, and Genao Productions. Sandrine Nguyen and Boris Hertzog, Executive Producers for Genao, assembled a world-class lineup of partners in France, including broadcasters GULLI and CANAL J, Lagardere Entertainment Rights and Lagardère Active TV Licensing & New Business. Baily, Meir and Nguyen developed the series, and Hertzog and McGregor structured the financing and negotiated all the deals. Baily (formerly EVP of Production and Creative Affairs for Classic Media) and Co-Executive Producer Bill Freiberger (The Simpsons, Drawn Together) are showrunners. Takashi Iizuka, the head of Sonic Team and driving creative force behind the Sonic games, is overseeing the series to ensure that it’s true to the Sonic characters and universe.

“Sonic is the star of the SEGA universe and the stage is now set for him to shine like never before. By teaming up with world-class partners in television animation like Cartoon Network, Genao Productions and GULLI, we’re ensuring that the Sonic legacy will be introduced to a new generation of children across the globe,” said Hiroyuki Miyazaki, SEGA’s Chief Content Officer for Sonic.

“We wanted to strengthen our TV channels’ editorial content with strong brands. This is our new objective. Sonic is an enormously popular and unique character with all the qualities of an animation series’ great hero—humor, bravery, loyalty, inventiveness. We are extremely proud to welcome him across our kids and family channels at Lagardère Active and will activate across these channels to raise awareness and excitement for the new series,” said Caroline Cochaux, Head of Programs, Kids & Family Channels, Lagardère Active.

“Genao is thrilled to collaborate with SEGA on this amazing project and embark on new adventures with the fastest hedgehog in the world. It is so exciting to work on such a world-class brand,” said Sandrine Nguyen, Managing Director of Genao.

Emmanuelle Bouilhaguet, Managing Director of Lagardere Entertainment Rights added “It is an amazing experience to be associated to such a powerful property with professional partners. International broadcasters are seeking for strong comedy and franchise based series and Sonic Boom is the perfect fit!”

“On the New Business & Licensing Side, we are proud and excited to handle the representation of Sonic which counts among the leading characters loved by kids. Thanks to our 360° platform which includes Digital Activities, Magazines, Indoor Parks, Grass Root events, we will push Sonic and the Consumer Products to a new level,” said Benoit Roque, Head of Lagardere Active TV Licensing & New Business.

SEGA is actively seeking partners in support of the new series launch across a range of industries including broadcast and licensing. In terms of television and digital distribution, Lagardere Entertainment Rights holds worldwide rights excluding the U.S. and Asia (but including Japan); SEGA Corporation will manage Asia (excluding Japan); Baily, Meir and McGregor will manage the US through McGregor’s company Jane McGregor, Inc. Licensing support will be spearheaded by Lagardère Active TV Licensing & New Business in France and SEGA in all other territories.

Sonic the Hedgehog first appeared as a videogame character in June 1991 and instantly became an icon for a generation of gamers. Defined by his super-fast speed and cool attitude, in the years since he first raced on to videogame consoles Sonic has become a true global phenomenon with over 140 million videogames sold or downloaded worldwide across consoles, PC’s, mobile phones and tablets. SEGA’s iconic blue blur has also gone on to enjoy incredible success in many licensed areas, such as toys, apparel, comics and animation. This year SEGA announced an exciting three title exclusive partnership with Nintendo for the Sonic the Hedgehog videogame franchise. The highly anticipated Sonic Lost World™ will be the first title to launch under this agreement and will be available in stores later this year for Wii U™ and Nintendo 3DS™ platforms.

Panye West wrote:IT'S THAT FIGHTING FREAK KNUCKLES

Colonel KR wrote:Hah! They'll do a new PacMan cartoon, they'll do a new Sonic cartoon, but they won't do a new Mario Bros. cartoon. Man, Nintendo really doesn't like other people touching its toys.

1-up Salesman wrote:See, you're leaving out the fact that the Pac-Man cartoon is awful. I wouldn't want that inspiring anyone to make a video game cartoon, especially not Nintendo.