Knuckles, which is now streaming on Paramount+, is a ton of fun. From Shabbat dinner episodes to rock operas featuring Michael Bolton, this show has it all. But what it also has is a headache-inducing multiversal conundrum featuring actor Scott Mescudi.
Here’s the deal. Over the end credits of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Mescudi, in his musical guise as Kid Cudi, sings the song “Stars in the Sky.” And in the related music video, Kid Cudi even flies through scenes from the movie, and even gets a 16-bit version of himself to interact with Sonic.
Then, in Knuckles, Mescudi plays the role of villain Agent Mason, a thorn in the side of both Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba) and his human friend Wade Whipple (Adam Pally).
You can probably see where we’re going with this, but how can Kid Cudi’s music exist in the world of Sonic while Mescudi himself is seemingly another person? And does Agent Mason listen to Kid Cudi’s music, not realizing… He’s listening to himself?
EP Toby Ascher laughed when asked about this by The Parent Watch, noting, “That is a complicated question.” And while he couldn’t quite untangle this particular logical knot, he did let us know that Mescudi seems like a great guy.
“Scott has been an incredible partner on this franchise,” Ascher continued. “The song ‘Stars in the Sky’ from Sonic 2 came out of the fact that Kid Cudi in reality is just a giant Sonic and Knuckles fan, specifically a Knuckles fan. And so we actually were hanging out on the set of the music video and that's when we started talking to him about what we were doing next. And Knuckles and his involvement in the show as an actor came from that.
“I know that doesn't exactly answer the meta question that you posed. But we love working with Scott and he was such a gift to have in this franchise. You really get to see Kid Cudi as an action hero in ways that I don't think you've seen before.”
We’ll take that as a “yes.”
Knuckles is now streaming on Paramount+.