Overview

• Tudyk claims early test screenings scored his motion-captured character Sonny above Will Smith’s Detective Spooner, prompting studio executives to drop him from marketing.
• He says the studio scrubbed his name and image from most press materials, resulting in many fans not realizing he played Sonny.
• Entertainment outlets have corroborated his podcast account and sought comment from 20th Century Studios and Smith’s team but have not received a public rebuttal.
• The disclosures have reignited discussion about how test-audience metrics influence publicity strategies and the under-recognition of motion-capture performers.
• Reports about the proportion of Tudyk’s on-set takes used in the final film come from a single source and have not been independently verified.