The fun family flick Sonic the Hedgehog is now available to watch in your own home (currently available on digital from Paramount Home Entertainment, and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and for rental on-demand on May 19th), and some versions even have a variety of extras that include a new animation, deleted scenes, a blooper reel, the origins of the speedy little blue character, and commentary. In this adventure, helmed by director Jeff Fowler, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) embraces and is enjoying his new home on Earth, until he accidentally catches the attention of evil genius Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and finds himself needing the help of Sheriff Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) to save the planet.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actor James Marsden talked about why he wanted to sign on for Sonic the Hedgehog, acting opposite a non-existent co-star, what stood in for Sonic on set, and whether he’d be game to do a sequel, after production picks back up again. He also talked about where things are at with the Enchanted sequel, and whether he’s watching Season 3 of Westworld while he’s having to stay at home.

Collider: This is not the only, or even the first, time that you’ve had a co-star that doesn’t actually exist, in real life. Could you ever imagined that would have happened to you once, let alone have that not be the only time that it’s happened to you?

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Many of us are spending this extra time at home catching up on shows we’ve long been meaning to binge-watch, movies we’ve been wanting to stream, books we’ve been meaning to read, or video games we’ve been waiting to play. And with the film industry on hiatus for the foreseeable future, that means even usually busy stars now have time to catch-up on their streaming queues and reading lists.

We reached out to Sonic the Hedgehog, Westworld, and X-Men actor James Marsden to see what he’s doing to keep himself entertained these days.

What Is the Last Thing You Finished Watching?

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During Sonic the Hedgehog, while the eponymous protagonist and his human pal, Sheriff Tom Wachowski, are on the run from Dr. Robotnik, the duo end up at a roadside bar to relax a little bit and cross some things off Sonic’s bucket list. Eventually though, a bar fight breaks out, one which Sonic puts an end to using his super speed.

The Sonic the Hedgehog bar fight was reminiscent of Quicksilver’s memorable scenes in X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse, with both speedy protagonists getting into shenanigans while everything around them moved in slow motion. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with James Marsden, who played Tom Wachowski, about his time on Sonic, and when I asked what the process of shooting this particular scene was like on his end, he responded:

“Not understanding the technology and just saying, ‘Just tell me what I need to do and how to stand and how long to hold by breath and how I long I can’t blink for.’ A lot of times I’ll go in and try to understand. ‘Okay, how is this going to cut together?’ Jeff Fowler was like, ‘Just trust me. Stand here, hold this beer.’ So it was very technical, but you knew you were being part of a sequence that was ultimately going to work and be cool. It was one of those things where I was like, ’This isn’t my wheelhouse, so I’m gonna let the real nerds step in and show me how this is shot.’ Because this is definitely not something actors are used to. We’re used to trying to get scenes to come to life with dialogue and eye contact and movement, and this was definitely like, ‘Okay, you’re a pawn in this big, fun thing that they’re putting together.’ So it was cool.”

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This July is the 20th anniversary of the release of X-Men, a movie that not only marked the cinematic debut of the Marvel mutants, but also played a key role in popularizing superhero movies. Among the stars of the ensemble cast was James Marsden, who played Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops, the eponymous team’s field leader capable of shooting optic blasts from his eyes.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with James Marsden about his latest movie, Sonic the Hedgehog, and when the conversation turned to X-Men, he noted how while he and his cast-mates knew that this movie would be unique, he never imagined that the franchise would grow the way that it did. As the actor told me:

“I think we all hoped it would become what it’s become, and we knew it had the power to with the legacy of the X-Men universe. They’ve been around since 1962, 1963? And so when we first started, it was 40 years of backstory and superfans. So we knew if we do this right, this could be something forever, for a long, long time. I’d hoped, but I did not anticipate that they’d still be making them. I mean, I thought maybe they’d make 4 or 5 of them in its success, but how many have they made now, 10? So it’s kinda crazy and really cool.”

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One way or another, the X-Men are on their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s basically been set in stone since 20th Century Fox’s merged with Disney and Marvel head-honcho Kevin Fiege mentioned “the mutants” at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Which means we’ve got a whole world of casting stories ahead of us; new Wolverine, new Jean Grey, new Cyclops, the whole nine yards.

So naturally, when I sat down with the OG Cyclops, James Marsden, to discuss the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog, I also asked if he had any advice for the MCU’s future eye-beam-blasting mutant. Marsden played Scott Summers across four films and fourteen years, starting with 2000’s X-Men and for the last time in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. Appropriately enough, the actor’s advice is all in the eyes. Or, lack thereof.

“The biggest challenge was that, the audience and other actors never being able to see your eyes. Definitely was a handicap in bringing a persona to the character, and an energy to the character. To a character who is also very, by nature, very by-the-books. Kind of a Boy Scout, ‘do the right thing.’ He’s a foil to Wolverine’s character, who is more fly by the seat of his pants, a little more unpredictable, and aggressive.

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Former X-Men star James Marsden is “totally open” to rejoining the franchise under Marvel Studios, who is expected to reboot the mutants when introducing the characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marsden portrayed Scott Summers, a.k.a. concussive blast-firing team leader Cyclops, in 2000’s X-Men and 2003’s X2: X-Men United before the character met his end at the hands of corrupted lover Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. Cyclops was prematurely killed at the behest of then-owners 20th Century Fox because Marsden had limited availability due to following X-Men and X2 director Bryan Singer to the DC Comics universe in Superman Returns, where Marsden played Richard White.

Marsden next stars as Green Hills sheriff Tom Wachowski in Sonic the Hedgehog, but would the 46-year-old actor seize an opportunity to return to the X-Men universe as a different character?

“Sure. It might be weird to be one thing to sort of rejoin Marvel or rejoin DC or something like that, but to actually rejoin X-Men as a different character might feel a little strange. But I would be open to it,” Marsden told ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview. “I mean, that was a world I have great respect for and [I’m] very grateful to be a part of that family for a long period of time. It’s one of those special moments in my career and I would totally be open to that.”

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