Kristen Bell joins Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has cast Kristen Bell as pink hedgehog Amy Rose in Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

The news broke this week when Ben Schwartz, the voice of Sonic himself, shared how delighted he was that Kristen — beloved for her roles in Frozen, Veronica Mars and The Good Place — was joining the voice cast.

He wrote on Instagram alongside the pair holding figures of their characters: “WE HAVE OUR AMY ROSE!!! And I could not be more excited!!! Please welcome the incredible @kristenanniebell to the @sonicmovie family!!!”

The casting announcement confirms that Amy — first teased in a mid-credits stinger at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 — will finally have a voice and a major presence in the upcoming sequel.

Bell brings serious voice-acting chops to the role. She’s best known for voicing Princess Anna in Disney’s Frozen franchise and has lent her voice to other animated projects like Zootopia 2 as well as narrating the CW’s Gossip Girl.

While plot details for Sonic the Hedgehog 4 remain tightly under wraps, the inclusion of Amy Rose — a longtime fan favorite character from the Sega video games — signals that the film may lean deeper into classic Sonic lore. The mid-credits cameo in the previous instalment saw Amy save Sonic from a horde of villainous Metal Sonics, setting the stage for her full debut.

The money-spinning franchise - based on the iconic Sega games of the same name - is one of the most profitable video game movie adaptations in Hollywood history, alongside the likes of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Pokemon and Resident Evil films.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 follows the titular hero as he, Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and his human accomplice Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) attempt to stop Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves) from destroying the world.

It also saw Jim Carrey return as the fan-favourite baddie Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

Even he vowed to retire from Hollywood, director Jeff Fowler always knew Carrey would return for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, due to the movie’s “fun concept”.

The filmmaker explained to Variety: “In my heart of hearts, I felt like if we offered Jim a fun concept and if we dangled just the right carrot, he'd come back. He loves entertaining young audiences.”

Carrey revealed when promoting ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ in 2022 that he was “fairly serious” about his plans to retire from acting, but admitted that he returned for the recent flick as he needed some cash after blowing through his savings.

‘The Mask’ star explained: “I came back to this universe because, first of all, I get to play a genius, which is a bit of a stretch.

“And, you know, it’s just … I bought a lot of stuff and I need the money, frankly.”