Keanu Reeves Joins SONIC 3 Cast as Shadow the Hedgehog
By Movieguide® Contributor
Keanu Reeves is set to join the star-studded cast of SONIC 3 as Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic’s government-created doppelganger.
In previous games and other Sonic media, Shadow has served as an antihero and antagonist to Sonic, being able to match all of his abilities. The two have also put their differences aside in the past and worked together to combat a greater evil.
Shadow’s introduction in the third movie does not come as a surprise, as he was featured in a mid-credits scene after SONIC 2.
“I’m a big fan of his,” Idris Elba told IGN in response to the news of Reeves’ casting. “I’ve heard that he’s a fan of mine, and we are destined to make something together. So, here we go.”
Idris Elba reacts to Keanu Reeves as Shadow the Hedgehog 👀 #Knuckles pic.twitter.com/sLCvJcDOsK
— IGN (@IGN) April 21, 2024
Elba plays Knuckles in the franchise, an echidna who is friends with Sonic. Knuckles is the star of a self-titled Paramount+ series, a sequel to SONIC 2 and a prequel to SONIC 3.
The show “follows [Knuckles] on a journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train Wade, played by Adam Pally, as his protégé and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior,” per Deadline. The series is set to debut on April 26.
Reeves’ introduction to the franchise adds to a star-studded cast, which includes Ben Schwartz (Sonic), James Marsden (Sheriff Tom Wachowski), Jim Carrey (Dr. Robotnik), Idris Elba (Knuckles) and Colleen O’Shaughnessey (Tails).
The franchise has been one of Paramount’s most popular IPs recently, with the first two movies grossing a collective $725.2 million at the box office. The first movie was released in 2020, and SONIC is one of the earliest examples of Hollywood’s newest trend of adapting video games to cinema and TV.
SONIC 3 is set to come to theaters starting on December 20, 2024.
Movieguide® previously reported on the Sonic series:
A SONIC THE HEDGEHOG producer revealed that upcoming films will feature “AVENGERS-level events,” whereas KNUCKLES, the new SONIC spinoff series, will focus on character development.
“We got really excited about the idea of expanding our characters in our world into television, specifically, because it gives us a platform to really do character studies,” executive producer Toby Ascher said.
“We knew that, with Shadow coming into SONIC 3 and some of the bigger things that we want to do, the SONIC franchise on the movie side is going to be these AVENGERS-level events,” he continued. “They’re going to be these big, exciting stories that have a lot of different characters. And so what television did for us is it gave us time to go into some of the more supporting characters in depth and really build them out in cool ways.”
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