“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” is the 3rd film the “Sonic” franchise following the 2020 & 2022 films and is based on the video game series by Sega. The film is once again directed by Jeff Fowler as sees Jim Carrey, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell & Shemar Moore return to their respective roles as well as Ben Schwartz, Collen O’Shaughnessy & Idris Elba return to the voice cast. Joining the live action cast is Krysten Ritter & the voice cast is Keanu Reeves. Just like the previous film, the 3rd film was announced the week of the 2022 film’s release. Due to the SAG-AFTRA strike in 2023, filming was spread out, as the animated characters filmed in July of 2023 & then actors began in November before the production ended in March of 2024.
In this film, Sonic (Schwartz), Tails (O’Shaughnessy) & Knuckles (Elba) are back in Green Hills celebrating the anniversary of Sonic’s arrival along with Tom (Marsden) & Maddie (Sumpter). The celebration is cut short when Commander Walters arrives to inform them of an attack in Toyko, Japan from unidentified anomaly with the same energy readings as Sonic & Knuckles. The 3 go to Japan and encounter this new threat. Shadow (Reeves) appears with the power of super speed & teleportation & vows to destroy this world for what they have done to him. Shadow appeared in an underground military facility at the end of the previous film & only Walters knew of his existence. When the trio is overpowered & overmatched, they are left with no choice but to join forces with an old enemy, Dr. Robotnik (Carrey) who was presumed dead after the events of the previous film. With a new team assembled, they embark on a journey to discover the mystery of Shadow’s origin and his connection to Dr. Robotnik that began over 50 years ago.
After the success of the previous film, a third film was inevitable. With the inclusion of Keanu Reeves as “Shadow”, it is clear that Paramount has plans for a cinematic universe, case & point, the “Knuckles” spinoff series. This film keeps the same fun & entertaining qualities that these films have known for. Reeves nails the character of “Shadow” being the antithesis of Sonic, much like a “Spider Man/Venom” or a “Batman/Red Hood” comparison. Shadow is both intimidating & vulnerable in his character arc. His backstory is very similar to another character played by Reeves, “John Wick”. Jim Carrey continues to shine in role as “Robotnik”. His performances get better with every film. You can clearly see that he fully dives into each performance and brings that “Jim Carrey” quality to the character. Without spoiling the ending, it is very clear that there are big plans for an extended cinematic universe, in which to me, I hope they do. I mean, we have 3 successful “Sonic” films already, a Super Mario Bros. film with solid animations & then a very well received but yet underappreciated “Detective Pikachu” film that did open the doors to the world of “Pokémon”. The way these films are animated & how good they are, a crossover should be a logical choice and if done correctly, it could rival what Disney has done with Marvel.
The film hit theaters on December 20, 2024 & became the second highest grossing PG film for a December release behind 2005’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”. Much like the previous film, another sequel has been announced. A 4th film has already entered development and is set for a release in 2027. Idris Elba has expressed interest in continuing his spinoff series that began in the summer of 2024. Keanu Reeves has also expressed interest in a spinoff for his character as well. The fact that Keanu Reeves is referenced in the first film when Sonic is watching the 1994 classic film, “Speed” to having the man himself in the 3rd film is pretty cool easter egg. SIDE NOTE: The video game, “Shadow the Hedgehog” is great spinoff and does a great job taking the character in much different direction from his blue counterpart and is more of a dark, action-adventure game rather a colorful side scrolling adventure.