Dreadknux

Rumour: Jason Griffith Leaving Sonic Role?

Sonic News · July 14th, 2010, 2:06 am by Dreadknux · 145 Comments »

Jason Griffith could be leaving his post as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog. That’s the rumour that has hit the Sonic community today, following an admission from the voice actor that he is currently not voicing the blue blur in the upcoming Sonic Colours.

Tipster ‘XD375′ told The Sonic Stadium of the revelation after having made contact with two anonymous sources close to the matter. They both suggested that “a new voice” would be involved in the Sonic franchise going forward. A message from Griffith’s Facebook profile has confirmed his lack of involvement;

Thanks for sending [a video of Sonic Colours]. Not sure who is voicing Sonic, unfortunately, so I can’t really say. Also, we have all signed NDA’s in the past, so I don’t really “speak up” on a lot of things involving SEGA.

Screengrab

The future of the roles of Tails, Knuckles and other lead characters were unknown, but it was revealed that Mike Pollock would continue his work as Dr. Eggman. When contacted by SSMB user ‘Crash’, Pollock declined to comment, adding that “I can’t discuss anything that’s not officially released yet, so please get back to me after [the game] hits the streets.”

Speculation of a change-up of the current Sonic voice-over cast sparked up shortly after ArchAngelUK spoke of an announcement to be made on Thursday, concerning the franchise as a whole. While it would not necessarily affect the games, it was suggested that the news would involve an element of the games to some degree. The subject of voice acting would certainly fit that bill.

The future of Griffith’s tenure as Sonic the Hedgehog is currently unknown. While his response above largely hints at a leave of the character, it is equally likely that this is a one-off – that Sega is undecided whether Sonic should have a full speaking role in Sonic Colours at all. If we get any clarifications regarding this rumour, we will be the first to let you know.

145 Responses

Tailikku says:

Bring back Ryan.

Bring Back Danny DeVito…. wait what

D32460523 says:

Maybe Funimation could do better

Sonic4K6 says:

I’m very happy with Griffith…. I hope he doesn’t leave.

Zer0Star says:

I could care less at this point about the voice roles… Drummond was awesome, but lacked a certain feeling, Griffith has a nice tone, but is poor when it comes to sounding angry/sad/ any kind of extreme emotion. And that laugh…
What really matters to me though are the games themselves. If Griffith leaves, so be it, I just hope they can get someone DECENT. Doesn’t have to be phenominal, as long as the games are worth playing.

Hmm. That’s kinda odd, that Jason doesn’t have a clue.

I hope Griffith doesn’t leave… I never minded him, and at this point, if they change the voice it won’t even sound like the Sonic I know anymore. :(

And also, *points at tags* …I see what you did there.

The Angelic One says:

Maybe they should take the Mario route, in that Sonic only says a few things during gameplay and the rest is text based, coz nothing beats the voice in your head that talks when you read stuff. :P

Daniel Butler says:

@ Sam
Get your facts strait.

Ryan said this

“I would have GLADLY re-located to New York for as long as was needed, even if I had to pay my own way there.”

Thats how passionate he was about it, he was willing to MOVE to New York to voice Sonic.

Everyone just got used to The way Sonic Portrayed Griffith.
When this issue first sparked up the VAST majority wanted drummond back.
this is totally unfair to people like me that fell in love with the sonic drummond portrayed.
Yes, if griffith is Replaced then its unfair to you guys too…But I feel he should of never accepted the role in the first place.

@BD3
Dont you see?
That signals towards a POOR voice actor, your not supposed to be able to easily tell its the same guy.

also

“Drummond: Only Sonic. The folks at Sega didn’t really want me lending my voice to any other character, just to concentrate on being the best Sonic I could be! The only exception to this rule was made for SONIC SHUFFLE, where I also did the voice of Knuckles.”

Back then SEGA cared more about that issue.
Now there willing to be cheap and get griffith to voice multiple characters.

Daniel Butler says:

I actually have a feeling this was blown out of proportion, Griffith Never said he wasnt doing the voice, he probably just wasnt contacted yet.

Daniel Butler says:

@DC111
THIS is how I FREEKING felt when this happened to me.
dont you see this?

By saying this your admitting that you feel like its a DIFFERENT CHARACTER if its a different voice.
Imagine being a Sonic fan Since sonic 1 like me, and then they hire drummond and all your dreams about the best Sonic voice actor come true. Then Hes FIRED.
Is it really morally right to want Jason back if your supporting what happened to me?
Is it morally right for me to want Ryan back, I see it as a YES, Because Jason was morally wrong in even accepting the role in the first place, but as i stated i do feel sympothy for you.

Daniel Butler says:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4AkTTXBTFU

The Alton Towers guy sounds like Griffith To me.
I agree he sounds different, but certain things said really make me beleive thats griffith, he has that up and down tone and slightly weird accent that griffith has.

But i could be wrong.

people if you listen to sonic juping and Changing rails in the demo you can clearly hear griffiths sonic shouts and lets not forget this is a demo of the game jason and mike have said that they cant spaek out about it and if mike is in it than Jason is staying Ryan is dead and burried

Inferno the Fox says:

If they replace him with Ryan again, I’m fine with that.

Just as long as he doesn’t do lines like the infamous “Look out, Tails! You’re gonna crash! Aah!”

Meh. I think Griffith is still voicing Sonic. And I’m fine with that.

oh and ive spoken to lisa ortiz and pete zarutisica amy and bigs voice actors on facebook they told me that they recorded new clips for allstar racing so thats further proof that jason is going to be stayin

Daniel Butler says:

@inferno the Fox
“Just as long as he doesn’t do lines like the infamous “Look out, Tails! You’re gonna crash! Aah!”

Dont blame Ryan for bad script writing, Ryan did NOT WRITE THE SCRIPT.

Think about it, if you were givin that line…you wouldnt of been able to do much better, thats just a poor script line.

I think part of it is just the way sonics face looks too when he says it, its just all around cheezy.
Haha
I think its funny though, it doesn’t really bother me.

I for one will be sad to see him go if that is the case, i feel his voice has come on quite well in both Sonic Unleashed and SatBK.
I honestly couldn’t think of any other person better suited to Sonic’s role, Drummond did an alright job, but looking back now i personally feel it sounds too mature for the character of Sonic. Gritffith has a much more cocky attitude that suits him better. But that’s just my opinion.

I hoping tomorrows BIG news isn’t all bad as i’m beginning to wonder now =(

Awwwww I mean YES YES just like the N64 Kids Yes

I hope Griffith stays. My first Sonic game was Shadow the Hedgehog (somehow I became a fan), so Griffith’s first voice acting ingame was my first Sonic voice. It fits Sonic in my mind, and I’d feel sad if he’s been dropped.

Sachiee says:

I liked griffith compared to some of the other voice actors for sonic.
However If the other voice actors leave- including griffith, I wish Scott Dreier would come back. I practically drooled over the voice acting of knuckles in Sonic Adventure 2…

@ CTOONfan1

Aw, you missed Sonic’s best releases then!

Tailsthehedgehog says:

Worried? Not at all. You couldn’t really hear the difference between Drummund and Griffiths, so hopefully/probably there will be little difference between Griffiths and a new VA should that really happen.
I hope. I do like Sonic’s voice…

When I think Griffith, I think Sonic- and vice versa. This is not good news for me. D:

@Daniel Butler

I’m not entirely sure if that’s Griffith’s voice on the ride. It doesn’t sound quite like him… I’m not sure, he sounds too much like a radio announcer to be Sonic.

Daniel Butler says:

@Random If you listen to lines like lets go, and certain words he says, it sounds like Griffith.

@Tailsthehedgehog

Listen to these back to back
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVVVudAV1IQ&playnext_from=TL&videos=VtC3gOW0HoU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djucfJLEr68

If you dont hear a difference, i reccomend getting your hearing checked, Im not being mean, im serious.

@CTOONfan1
The first Voice you heard was Jasons and the first game you played was one with Jason so it makes since you would like that portrayal of sonic, but thats totally unfair to people like me who loved Ryan.
Obviously the voice change was unexpected, i thought ryan would play sonic forever…They never changed junichi SEGA chose drummond for a reason.
4kids chose the actors for Sonic X
Who do you think is gonna make the most thought out descision
the creators of Sonic or 4kids, the dubbing company that butchers most animes.

Baking Blue Potatoe says:

I honestly feel Jason is the best.

In my opinion, Ryan was only good in SA2. After that though, he sounded too… I dunno. He just didn’t sound the way he used to.

Jason on the other hand, got better over time. Just listen to a Sonic X Clip and a recent clip (I believe Black Knight or Unleashed would be the best examples at the moment)

Purmabanned says:

Ooh, looks like you’ll be having your hands full tonight, TSS. You get any blighters, just send them my way and I’ll bring them into line with my patented psycho arguments. ;)

Kits'Okami says:

I dunno why my last comment wasn’t approved, but allow me put fears to rest and answer questions.

@Butler: That’s definitely not Butler. That’s Marc Silk, a “stock voice actor” who does all sorts of things, adverts included.

And since he’s based in the UK, there’s no way that he has even a glimmer of a chance to become Sonic’s official voice.

Sonic Man says:

I say bring back Ryan Drummond since most fans obviously want him back to voice Sonic again. In fact, Sega should just bring back the original cast. The 4Kids cast makes the characters sound too childish. Sonic should be marketed for children, teenagers, or adults, depending on what kind of Sonic game is made. Ryan made Sonic sound like a cool and confident teenager hero, while Jason made him sound slower filled helium gas. It shouldn’t be about what Sega wants, it should be about what the consumers want. As far as I can tell, Ryan should be cast back into his deserving role.

Sonic&Tails says:

I don’t get you guys, most Sonic fans wanted Jasons to leave and know when he is leaving you want him to stay.To me, I don’t mind if it’s better for Sonic but I still feel bad for Jasons.

Daniel Butler says:

Yeah its become quite clear to me that it seems most people these days want jason to stay. Maybe its partially because any ryan fan that comes along now gets associated with spax, which is very sad to me considering im not spax and never will be. Or maybe its because each year that goes by there are becoming more and more fans that heard jason first, so the fell in love with that portrayol of sonic. Itsp also becoming clear that most people are to lazy to research the drummond matter in depth and really ask themselves if its right or not to support the current voice. Sonic is my childhood hero and im completely confident that much of the way hesitance currently portrayed is not what the creators fully intended. Aside from the occasional game like sonic 4 where sonic is mute, i feel like my childhood hero has been stripped away from me. I guess im just the extremely unfortunate odd man out.

Daniel Butler says:

they fell in love* hes not hesitance* sorry im typing on my wii.

KennyWolf says:

Nooo! Jason is the best Sonic voice ever! Though it was a little weird in “Sonic and the Secret Rings”

He shouldnt go.

Also. Drummond is nothing compared to Jason.

Bring back Jaleel White! >:I
But seriously, I feel so bad for Jason. He was really good! D:
Stupid fanbase wouldn’t stop complaining about him….
And the reason those of us who liked Jason didn’t say anything was because everyone else would flip and tear our faces off. xD

Sonicandknuxx says:

But that doesn’t mean anything. That image from facebook says what Jason said… but it doesn’t mean he’s retiring for good. :/

there dropping 4kids. only Mike Pollock (right spelling?) is staying. Drummond back… please…!

RockXLight says:

@ Daniel Butler

You’re not the only who wants Drummond back, don’t worry. I myself am not so angered by their choice for Sonic’s new actor, just that they didn’t seem to even consider getting Drummond back, who people have complained for years needs to return.

Griffith’s fanbase is made of fans who got into Sonic with the crappy anime series or Shadow the Hedgehog/06. Expect the same shitstorm to stir up about this new guy, too. Eventually SEGA will realize that their original casting for Sonic’s voice was the best.

Daniel Butler says:

@RockXLight

Finally someone who gets it.

Oh btw add me on aim @ sk8almostmullen
or skype The Danimator

Anyone who wants to have a constructive argument about this that disagrees, lets chat.

Crystal says:

I just had to do this…….

RUMOUR PROVEN TRUE……
Sonic has a new voice actor…… again….. at least for Sonic Colours.

Sonicsorox says:

@rockxlight umm noooo! I played Sa2b before anything else and I’m a Jason fan! Now most places you see ask for Jason and most used to be Ryan fans think he sounds wierd compared to jasons awesomeness! All you Ryan fans would spaz out at any comment having to do with a Jason fan! Guess what I think Jason rox and think he’s the best! Let people have their own opinions and quit spazing out at any comment having to do with us Jason fans which by the way is a lot! Jason FTW ! And I’m not scared to say I want Jason back! Any Ryan fan can feel free to spaz scream an cuss me out as much as you want cause I don’t really care! Ryan was ok though

I’m sorry if I’m offending anyone, but I frankly hated Drummond except in SA2, in which he was perfect. But I began to love the way Griffith potrayed Sonic and Shadow as of Unleashed and Black Knight. What’s this I hear about Griffith being wrong to accept the role? NO! Whoever found that quote about Drummond willing to move to New York to voice Sonic, it’s fake. Drummond refused to voice Sonic in X and Shadow the Hedgehog because he said that he had developed a hatred for Sonic as a character and game. 4Kids followed suit and got rid of the rest of the actors and replaced them with new ones who were rusty at first, but eventually became more talented than the originals. As for Sonic having less speaking roles, I personally feel that would be taking away valuable parts of Sonic’s character and the storyline.

Daniel Butler says:

@Talio17

Wtf
Dude you are totally either a LIAR or getting FALSE information.
If you go on drummonds myspace, sonic is on his top friends even

your information is completely false.

If you disagree PROVE WHERE YOU GOT IT.

BRING BACK URKEL!