Sonic the Hedgehog director says Knuckles didn't have a cameo in order to keep things simple

The Sonic the Hedgehog movie focused on the battle between Sonic and Dr. Robotnik, but some fans were hoping to see some of Sonic's buddies. Why did someone like Knuckles not make the cut for this film? Comicbook.com asked director Jeff Fowler that very question, and you can find his answer below.

“For this first film, we really were just looking at the 1991 game and just see where it all started and just keep it simple. Just really try to nail Sonic and Robotnik and just set up their rivalry because you don't ... I mean, I love ... There's a lot of great characters in Sonic universe, but it's the most important thing is just to get Sonic set up and just tell a little bit of an origin story with him, and just do it in a way that really makes everyone fall in love with him as a character and just be rooting for more. And then, if all that goes well, then we can kind of open it up and bring in some of these other characters that fans know and love. And yeah, I mean, no one's more excited than me to have that opportunity.”