Somehow, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie wasn’t a disaster — in fact, it was pretty great! So we’re eager to see what director Jeff Fowler, along with writers Josh Miller and Pat Casey, comes up with for the sequel. New characters are a given: the last film teased Sonic’s two-tailed companion Tails in a post-credit scene. But what about Knuckles the echidna? The one-time villain, who became a friend, and occasional anti-hero in the Sonic universe, was nowhere to be seen in the first film. But it’s not hard to imagine how he’d fit in, as that movie also opened with Sonic being attacked by a band of ninja-like echidna.

As with many hyped-up genre movies, set photos have spoiled the surprise, showing a prop of Knuckles standing alongside Sonic and Tails. The photos, originally taken by @pursuit23 on Twitter and published on Just Jared, imply this isn’t just a cameo. But it’s hard to read too much into a stationary prop. I just hope the sequel ends up being as fun as the original — though, I imagine it’ll be tough topping Jim Carrey’s gonzo performance as Robotnik.