The first trailer for the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie has arrived, showing Team Sonic’s battle with Shadow the Hedgehog, confirmed to be voiced by Keanu Reeves. Sonic 3 is set to release in cinemas on 20th December 2024.
Here’s the trailer, but you’re probably best off not watching it if you’d like there to be any surprises left for the final film.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 sees Shadow unleashed upon the world, a darker counterpart to Sonic whose appearance was teased at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Would he be Robotnik’s latest lackey to get revenge on Sonic? Well, the trailer completely spoils that aspect of the story, but it’s a bit of a no-brainer that Jim Carrey’s Robotnik would return, and he’s larger than life as usual… especially with his waistline.
Keanu Reeves has become one of the most popular and beloved actors in Hollywood in recent times, thanks in no small part to his action-packed John Wick series, and honestly, I think he’s a great bit of casting for Shadow, thanks to the often quite neutral tone to his voice. He’s joining Idris Elba’s Knuckles, Ben Schwartz’s Sonic and Colleen O’Shaughnessey’s Tails in the recording booth, who all did a fine job for the second film.
Shadow’s appearance adding another layer to the franchise which has just introduced Tails and Knuckles to the film’s universe. Shadow debuted in Sonic Adventure 2 in 2001 as a new arch nemesis to Sonic with many of the same abilities and powers, but a darker and edgier tone. Shadow has since become a mainstay of the video game franchise, though as more of an antihero as opposed to a villain, even using guns in the 2005 spin-off game Shadow the Hedgehog – this was not a series highlight.
With almost perfect timing, Shadow is making a comeback in video games as well, with Sonic X Shadow Generations, an expanded remaster of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game with a whole new story for Shadow. We’ve just been hands on with this at Gamescom 2024 – read our Shadow Generations preview here.
The top 10 best Sonic the Hedgehog games of recent times
We reviewed Sonic the Hedgehog 2 earlier this year, giving it a great 8/10 score and saying, ”
“Sonic the Hedgehog 2 kicks on from the 2020 origin story with a bigger and even more bombastic sequel, fleshing out the Sonic universe while riffing on superhero movies and globe-trotting adventures. With another film in the works (and a mid-credits scene to tease it), this blue blur is set to be a family-friendly staple for quite some time to come.”
