Sonic 2 director Jeff Fowler is very aware of the ‘Sexy Knuckles’ meme, and more than that, he’s something of a fan of the joke. Fowler admitted as much in an interview with Screen Rant, where they discussed how the internet, and Idris Elba, reacted to the hot new Sonic character.
“Oh my God, it was incredible,” Fowler said. “It was so amazing. So funny. There’s no such thing as bad publicity, is what they say, and I don’t think this by any means could be classified as bad publicity.”
“I thought was hilarious. It was so great and a wonderful way of welcoming Idris Elba into our weird little family, our weird little Sonic family,” he continued. “I think he got a kick out of it. I was sending him stuff, saying like, ‘This is a good thing. It’s a good thing that this meme is out there.’ I was all for it.” We’ll take Fowler’s word for it that Elba wasn’t even slightly weirded out by people sexualising his bright red echidna.
For those unaware, the ‘Sexy Knuckles’ meme was born soon after Elba announced he was appearing in the new family movie. Basically, fans were aware of the effect Elba can have on people, and they worried that his voice might bring too much sex appeal to Sonic 2 villain.
This prompted Elba to tell Screen Rant he wasn’t trying to make Knuckles sexy. Unfortunately, as fans at the time said, Elba doesn’t get to decide what’s sexy and what’s not.
If you’re looking for more sexy characters, check out our list of the best romance movies, although there are no echidnas, I’m afraid. If you need to see if Knuckles sexy is for yourself Sonic 2 is in theatres now.