New Press Images for 'Knuckles' Reveal Wade in Cosplay, Sonic 2006 References

WARNING: Possible visual spoilers for the 'Knuckles' TV series below.

Paramount has updated its media press portal with new screenshots of the upcoming 'Knuckles' TV show, due to hit streaming service Paramount+ on April 26. They highlight a few key beats from the six-episode series, including appearances from Sonic, Maddie Wachowski and a strange British character that seems to really enjoy bowling.

The whole gallery is available at the bottom of this article, but we decided to highlight some choice images:

Knuckles sitting on a thrown of tools and hardware accessories, in what appears to be Tom and Maddie Wachowski's house. Since the events of the Sonic 2 movie, the punchy echidna hangs around with Sonic and his human family, and we imagine the TV series is intended to focus on his place in the world.

Apparently there will be brief appearances from Sonic, Tails and other characters from the movies peppered throughout the show, despite the focus on Knuckles. We love the above image as we can just imagine Knuckles trying to wrap his head around the concept of VR.

In the show, Knuckles teams up with Green Hills deputy Wade Whipple as they... investigate crime? Do a buddy cop thing? I'm sure it'll all be explained in the first episode, but it leads to Knuckles deciding to train Wade to become a mighty warrior. Part of this, I imagine, leads to the above reference to E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, with Wade flying across the hills while riding on a gliding Knuckles.

At some point, GUN agents get involved and as we can see here there is a successful attempt at a capture at some point in the show. Will Knuckles be able to escape himself, or will he need a hero?

... And will that hero actually be Wade, somehow? There are images in this press pack that show the bumbling cop tripping out with some kind of rainbow road running out of his mouth, as well as the above image where he is clearly 'honouring' Knuckles in the best possible way.

And yes, it gets better. Because that screenshot is followed by the above image, which shows Wade (in Knuckles cosplay) running through a stage themed like a Sonic the Hedgehog level (given the background, looks like Angel Island, to be precise). He's on strings, like Pinocchio, so either he's doing some kind of high-level theatre performance or this is some weird dream sequence. 

As we've seen in many of the trailers, the show heavily leans on a bowling theme. Some big tournament happens in the local alley, and some of the images show some of the action from that tournament - including Wade wearing a 'Wade the Warrior' shirt. At some point, all hell breaks loose in the lanes, leading to the epic shot above.

Aaaaaaand there's this little beauty. We just adore the Sonic 2006 reference here.

Check out the full gallery of press images below - we were able to source the lower-quality versions ourselves via Paramount's Press Portal, but these high-quality versions were kindly shared with us by TailsChannel and Sonic Video Archive. Thanks guys!

'Knuckles' hits Paramount+ on April 26 - make sure you're subscribed to the service so you don't miss out!