Be aware that spoilers for Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice are in play here.
James Marsden and Ben Schwartz remain synonymous with each other, thanks to their roles in the successful Sonic the Hedgehog films. What’s interesting about those films, though, is that the pair don’t physically appear alongside each other in those films due to the fact that Schwartz voices the eponymous hedgehog. More recently, the pair finally had a chance to work on a different movie, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice and, ironically, they hilariously still didn’t share scenes. And CinemaBlend spoke about that fact with the movie’s director.
Seriously, what are the odds that after years of working together (or apart?) on the Sonic movies, Schwartz and Marsden would land an entirely different film that still wouldn’t require them to be on set together? When CinemaBlend spoke to BenDavid Grabinski, the writer/director of (the well reviewed) Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, we asked if the Sonic connection between his two actors was evident to him. Grabinski said he made the link but as “an accident,” and he explained how one of his past productions tied into Sega’s mascot:
I made this show called Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and there was this thing that became a meme where Scott asked Ramona have you seen Sonic the Hedgehog? And then the image that you just kept being put up, and then they had shirts of it on a hot topic. So there was this dumb internet meme thing about a joke I had about Scott Pilgrim on my show.
That’s an interesting coincidence as well, though I just can’t get my mind off the fact that Marsden and Schwartz don’t share any scenes together. In the movie, Marsden plays Mike, a mob enforcer looking to leave his violent life behind and start a new one with Alice (the wife of his best friend, Nick). Meanwhile, Schwartz plays Symon, an inventor friend of Alice who’s inadvertently killed at the beginning of the film. While I would’ve liked for the two actors to share the screen, Grabinski revealed that he found that irony a bit amusing:
And then I have Sonic and Sonic's dad in my movie, and then they don't share any scenes. That amused me but, at the end of the day, it's just who's best for the movie. Yeah, there's an added kind of funny thing to me that they both are in a live-action movie together, but they don't share any scenes.
Something that’s hard to argue with when it comes to Grabinski’s sentiments is the fact that both Ben Schwartz and James Marsden fit their respective roles. Marsden brings a seasoned but somewhat wide-eyed vibe to Mike, who has to wrap his head around the fact that a version of Nick has traveled from the future to save him from getting killed. As for Schwartz, he absolutely crushes the minimal screentime he has as Symon, and he really goes for it in that opening scene in which he sings “Why Should I Worry?” from Oliver & Company. So, all in all, there’s a comfort in knowing that Marsden and Schwartz deliver in their roles.
Of course, M&N&N&A won’t be the final time that Marsden and Schwartz’s names share a marquee. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 was formally announced at the end of 2025, and production in progress. Schwartz – who has been praised for his portrayal of Sonic – recently posted about the film when sharing a sweet photo with Kristen Bell, the voice of Amy Rose in the movie.
In the meantime, though, I’d recommend checking out Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, which I’d argue is one of the most entertaining films to come out of the 2026 movie schedule thus far. While there’s no scene involving both James Marsden and Ben Schwartz, BenDavid Grabinski’s film offers up time travel-based thrills, comedy and some bloody action. Check it out now by streaming it with a Hulu subscription.
