Yeah, it's definitely an interesting development, not least because we don't *know* that two worlds is actually gone. That's of course the most straightforward and logical assumption, but it's not something we can take as a given until Ian actually tells us what he knows. I'm really chomping at the bit now!
Surprised nobody mentioned this, but a new Sonic Movie 2 prequel miniseries leaked yesterday, seems like it'll be written by Gale Galligan
The takeaway here is: you're welcome. (That was a joke) That just irritates me. Do I need to bring the boy again? (Wait, that didn't come out right...) Still, here's to it all being over soon and we can have Sonic's Earth back. Or more of me whinging. Either or. Ooo, tie-in media. Anyone want to bet how much'll change between it and the actual movie due to script drift and changes?
What I get from Ian's answer actually is: "you shouldn't bang your head on the wall because of the two worlds thing; you can live your life with it even if it doesn't make sense".
See, if he was just saying "just don't worr about it", I'd buy that. But he's indicating some news is inbound regarding it with the "I'll get into it later" and "I wouldn't worry about it for now"...
Just crossposting this from the continuity thread but the preview for the next IDW comic was just released, and they show off Tails' lab in Central City by name. It's the main city from Shadow the Hedgehog (and maybe SA2? Was that ever confirmed?) so perhaps this is an indication that they're moving away from that.
And also the name of the newspaper Amy Rose was reading in the search for Sonic, which led her to look for him in Seaside Hill, which according to Forces is on Sonic's world and not Earth.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Central City has already been name-dropped during the Metal Virus Saga. https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Central_City_(IDW) It is a fairly generic name for a city after all…
Agh, ninja'd. Yeah, Central City was visited previously during Metal Virus. (around Issue #21-#22ish, ) Spoiler: IDW IDW seems to be compositing Emerald Town (where Tails's lab is) as simply being part of Central City (within walking distance in the game), both from Battle. Spoiler: Battle
Ian answered a question about Central City on his podcast a few months ago. He rationalised it by saying there's a Central City on Sonic's world (Sonic Battle) and a different Central City on the human world (Shadow the Hedgehog). But that was months ago, and it sounds like they might be taking a different approach now.
Which is amusing, since... Also, the shot of the planet appears to have the European and African continents, though they are rather odd looking and mostly obscured by the clouds. Spoiler It's a funny angle, but I can see the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Africa there, beneath the clouds.
Either Flynn is much more involved in the franchise, they've lifted a bit of restrictiveness for the comic series, or Flynn's just trying to drum up just a bit of rumors to be talked about.
An important thing to remember about 'two worlds' is that it has never been textual, and will likely remain that way. I think telling people not to worry about it makes sense in a framing where it might as well not even be true for all the difference it makes.
Spreading rumours would be a brilliant way for Ian to lose his working relationship with SEGA. He has admitted on BumbleKast that he knows things about Sonic 2022 that we don’t, so I reckon he has become more ingrained behind the scenes than he would’ve been during the Archie days, which suggests to me that there is a long term plan SEGA has for Sonic that benefits them to involve Ian and perhaps Evan in so that the comics can supplement that plan rather than contradict it.
I mean, you're not wrong... still don't know what that G.U.N. Map from Shadow the Hedgehog was about when everything else at that point in time was Earth, to the point the game contradicts itself on the map later with a shot of North America being shot... I mean, you can glean what continents are what from the map, though (except Australia, which seems to be gone). If I were able to, I'd probably retcon that G.U.N. map as them studying continental drifts to figure out where the Black Arms ruins touched down in ancient times, where the continents would have moved them to, and strike at them in modern times. Australia's not on there because it's Australia, it took care of the invaders itself. Bit of an asspull, but eh, it's just too inconsistent with the rest of the world maps. Except Sonic Battle, which you can kinda glean Europe and Africa if you tilt your head and squint hard enough. Introducing new Sonic the Hedgehog game writer: Ian Flynn! He had to take time off the comic to write the new game's plot, it's all coming together!
The context is important. Whenever it's come up in previous episodes Ian essentially agreed that it doesn't make sense given what we've seen in previous games like Sonic Adventure 1/2, but that it is what it is and the current set-up is fine if they just move forwards. Now he's saying not to worry about that kind of detail anymore and that there's something he can't get into right now, but will later. So there's something new that he knows about and we don't. Maybe it's something we'll see in the Encyclo-speed-ia, the next game, or an upcoming comic storyline. For now, we don't know. Don't do this. It's incredibly disrespectful. Ian has never done that.
That's actually the thing the bothers me about it, though. If they want two worlds, the games need to show us that, and until they do, I won't believe it.
I'm not trying to be a dick when saying that. That said, it's meant to be a much broader claim than it might seem and I should've found a way to illustrate it better.
