Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 2024 American-Japanese epic action adventure comedy film based on the video game series published by Sega, and the sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022). It is directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington, based on a story by Casey and Miller. James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Lee Majdoub, Idris Elba, and Jim Carrey reprise their roles, with Keanu Reeves joining the cast.
Plans for a third Sonic the Hedgehog film were announced in February 2022 during Paramount's investor event before the release of the second film. Due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, filming for animated characters began in July 2023 in Surrey, England, while filming with physical actors began in November of that year in London, with production concluding by March 2024. The film draws inspiration from the video game Sonic Adventure 2 (2001).
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on December 20, 2024. Critical reception was notably improved from previous installments, with particular praise for Carrey's and Reeves' performances. A sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, is scheduled for release on March 19, 2027.
Plot[]
In 1974, a meteorite containing the alien hedgehog Shadow crash-lands in Oklahoma and is seized by the U.S. military. Shadow's power is experimented on by Professor Gerald Robotnik at a Guardian Units of Nations (GUN) research facility under the supervision of Captain Walters; Shadow also develops a close friendship with Maria, Gerald's granddaughter. One night, as Gerald, Maria, and Shadow try to escape the facility to prevent Shadow from being taken away, Maria is accidentally killed in an explosion. Walters shuts down the facility, imprisons Gerald, and places Shadow in suspended animation.
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
Fifty years later, an unknown individual hacks into a GUN prison facility's systems off the coast of Japan and releases a vengeful Shadow. In Green Hills, Montana, Soniccelebrates the anniversary of his arrival on Earth with Tails, Knuckles, and their adoptive parents Tom and Maddie Wachowski. GUN Director Rockwell arrives and recruits Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles (dubbed "Team Sonic") to help apprehend Shadow in Tokyo. However, he overpowers the three and escapes.
Team Sonic meets with the now-Commander Walters, who informs them about Shadow's past. Suddenly, Dr. Ivo Robotnik's drones attack and fatally wound Walters, who gives Sonic a keycard before he dies. They decide to find Shadow without GUN's help as Rockwell discovers the missing keycard and turns against them. Team Sonic encounters Ivo's assistant, Agent Stone, who denies involvement in the attack; they form an uneasy alliance with Ivo and track the stolen drones to the abandoned GUN facility.
Ivo encounters Gerald, his estranged grandfather and the mastermind behind Shadow's escape and the stolen drones, as Shadow captures the others. Gerald explains that the keycard is one of two needed to activate the Eclipse Cannon, an orbiting laser space weaponhe designed for GUN capable of targeting and destroying any location on Earth. He claims that he plans to use it to destroy GUN's headquarters in London to avenge Maria's death, and Ivo agrees to join him. Shadow takes the keycard from Tails and activates a miniature black hole to destroy the base as he, the Robotniks, and Stone leave.
Team Sonic escapes using a ring portal and recruits Tom and Maddie to steal the second keycard from GUN's headquarters, contending with the Robotniks and Rockwell. Tom successfully obtains the keycard, but Shadow gravely wounds him and takes it, allowing the Robotniks to launch the Eclipse Cannon. Enraged, Sonic abandons Tails and Knuckles, steals the Master Emerald, and becomes Super Sonic using the seven Chaos Emeralds contained within. Sonic confronts Shadow, who likewise absorbs the Chaos Emeralds' energy to become Super Shadow. Sonic eventually overpowers Shadow, but relents upon realizing he was being consumed by revenge. Sonic tells Shadow about the loss of his guardian Longclaw and that their love for the people they have lost is more important than revenge. Having a change of heart, Shadow agrees to help stop the cannon.
Aboard the Eclipse Cannon, Gerald reveals he actually intends to destroy Earth to avenge Maria's death. A horrified Ivo attempts to abort the firing sequence, preferring to rule over humanity rather than destroy it, but Gerald destroys the command console. Tails and Knuckles arrive, and the three knock Gerald into the reactor core, killing him. Sonic and Shadow block the cannon's beam as Ivo, Tails, and Knuckles steer it away from Earth, accidentally slicing off part of the Moon. Sonic loses his super form and consciousness while blocking the cannon's beam with Shadow, and falls back to Earth. Tails and Knuckles save Sonic using a ring portal to Green Hills. When the cannon’s core begins to melt down, Ivo and Shadow sacrifice themselves to move it away from Earth before it explodes, while Ivo makes a final announcement acknowledging Stone as his only friend. Sonic reconciles with Tails and Knuckles, while Tom recovers from his injuries.
During a race with Tails and Knuckles, Sonic gets lost and is attacked by an army of Metal Sonic robots but is saved by Amy Rose. Elsewhere, Shadow is revealed to have survived the cannon's destruction.
| Spoiler Warning: All spoilers have been stated and have ended here. |
Cast[]
Voice cast[]
- Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog: An anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds.[3]
- Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Miles "Tails" Prower: An anthropomorphic yellow-orange fox who can fly with his twin-tails.[3]
- Idris Elba as Knuckles the Echidna: A hot-headed and serious anthropomorphic red echidna warrior with super strength.[3]
- Keanu Reeves as Shadow the Hedgehog: An anthropomorphic red-striped black hedgehog resulting from a secret government program called Project Shadow.[4]
Amy Rose and various Metal Sonic clones make cameo appearances in the post-credits scene.
Live-action cast[]
- Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik, a mad scientist and Sonic's arch-nemesis who he often refers to as "Eggman", and as Professor Gerald Robotnik, Ivo's grandfather and the head of Project Shadow.[3]
- James Marsden as Tom Wachowski, the adoptive father of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, and the sheriff of Green Hills, Montana.[3]
- Tika Sumpter as Maddie Wachowski, Tom's wife, the adoptive mother of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, and the local veterinarian of Green Hills.[3]
- Lee Majdoub as Agent Stone, Robotnik's assistant.[3]
- Krysten Ritter as Director Rockwell, a high-ranking officer of the military organization Guardian Units of Nations (GUN).
- Natasha Rothwell as Rachel, Maddie's sister whom Maddie disguises as to infiltrate GUN headquarters.
- Shemar Moore as Randall Handel, a GUN agent and Rachel's husband, whom Tom disguises as to infiltrate GUN headquarters.
- Adam Pally as Wade Whipple, the deputy sheriff of Green Hills who guards the Master Emerald for Knuckles.
- Alyla Browne as Maria, Gerald's granddaughter who becomes a close friend to Shadow during his time in Gerald's lab.[5]
- Tom Butler as Commander Walters, the former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is the leader of GUN.[3]
- James Wolk as young Commander Walters.
- Jorma Taccone as Kyle Lancebottom, a GUN agent on Prison Island who watches over Shadow.
Sofia Pernas and Cristo Fernández play characters in "La Última Pasión", a telenovela Ivo watches.
Production[]
Development[]
In an invite to Kellen's Petty Talk Show released on 5 April 2021, Patrick Casey and Josh Miller expressed interest in making a third Sonic movie already, going as far as to mention that there was an Eggman scene cut from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the sake of flow that they would want to re-add to the third movie.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was announced on 15 February 2022 at the ViacomCBS Investors Connect day, two months before the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
On 13 May 2022, writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller made guest appearances at a Comic book convention hosted by Klamath Community College, where they answered questions from fans about the movies they had written for and been involved in. On the topic of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Casey and Miller were asked on what plotlines they were interested in adapting into it, and they expressed interest in potentially drawing inspiration from Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog. In response to a question on Shadow the Hedgehog's planned voice actor for the film, Casey and Miller would state that they intended to have a big movie star voice Shadow, and had a specific person planned for the role, although they had not heard back from him in regards to his acceptance of the role. Another question asked whether "Live and Learn" could potentially be used in the climax of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, to which Casey and Miller replied that there was a "decent chance" of such a thing, adding that the producers were aware of fan support for Crush 40 to be featured in the film, and that the band's involvement had been discussed. In response to a question on Jim Carrey's involvement in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Casey and Miller replied that the movie was currently still in its "blue sky" phase of development, where they were considering all the possible ways the movie could be, while trying to find how it should be, and that Carrey's involvement was currently unknown. Lastly, in response to a question on the release date of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, they stated they were expecting for it to be released in roughly two years.
On 8 August 2022, the film was officially slated for release on 20 December 2024.
On 25 May 2023, Pat Casey confirmed that the writing for the film had been finished at some point prior to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, an event which started on 2 May 2023.
On 8 August 2023, it was stated that several scenes from the movie which don't involve physical actors, due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, will be filmed starting from September 2023.
On 2 February 2024, the logo of the movie was revealed by Paramount Pictures on YouTube. Additionally, it is revealed that Jim Carrey will reprise his role as Dr. Robotnik. Furthermore, Krysten Ritter, Alyla Browne, James Wolk, Sofia Pernas, Cristo Fernández and Jorma Taccone were also revealed to appear in the film, along with a few reprising actors; Ben Schwartz, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Idris Elba, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Lee Majdoub and Tom Butler.
Music[]
The first teaser for the film was given a short cinematic remix of "Live and Learn", the main theme of Sonic Adventure 2, by Crush 40.
Trivia[]
- The announcement for the movie was likely a pun on Sonic 3 & Knuckles, as it was announced along with a spin-off series titled Sonic the Series. The Paramount+ Facebook page even responded with a comment about this reference.
- The US release date for this movie, 20 December, is also the same date that Sonic Adventure 2: Battle was released on in Japan, in 2001. It is unknown if this is simply a coincidence, or an intentional choice due to the movie drawing elements from said game.
- The logo of the movie is based on the logo of Sonic Adventure 2.
- According to the filmmakers, this film's storyline will be somewhat darker compared to the previous films.
Future[]
In September 2024, producer Toby Ascher stated intent for additional Sonic films. Elba and Reeves have expressed interest in a spin-off starring their characters. In December 2024, a fourth Sonic film entered development, set for release on March 19, 2027. Despite his character's apparent death in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Carrey said in January 2025 that he was "open to the idea" of returning for the fourth film, provided that its premise interested him.
Videos[]
External Link[]
References[]
- Lang, Brent (2 February 2024). Jim Carrey Returning for ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. Retrieved on 2 February 2024.
- Sonic the Hedgehog (@SonicMovie) on Twitter. Twitter(8 August 2022). Retrieved on 8 August 2022. "Sonic the Hedgehog: Running faster, flying higher, and punching harder. #SonicMovie3 hits theatres on December 20, 2024."
- Paramount Pictures Spain (@paramount_spain) on Twitter. Twitter (29 November 2023). Retrieved on 27 January 2024.
- Paramount+ (@paramountplus) on Twitter. Twitter (15 February 2022). Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved on 15 February 2022. "Paramount+: #SonicMovie3 is officially in development from @ParamountPics and @SEGA! Plus, next year a new original #Knuckles series with @IdrisElba is coming to #ParamountPlus. #SonicMovie2 hits theaters April 8!"
- Bankhurst, Adamn (2 February 2024). Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Adds Krysten Ritter, Cristo Fernández, Alyla Browne, and More. IGN. Retrieved on 2 February 2024.
- Episode 27 - Pat Casey and Josh Miller (Sonic the Hedgehog). Kellen's Petty Talk Show (5 April 2021). Retrieved on 16 April 2021.
- Kroll, Justin (15 February 2022). 'Sonic The Hedgehog' Universe Continues To Grow As Sega And Paramount Sign Off On Third Film As Well As A 'Knuckles' Spin-Off Series In The Works At Paramount+ With Idris Elba
- ↑ Ocbazghi, Emmanuel (February 13, 2020). The bizarre evolution of Sonic the Hedgehog.
- ↑ Power, Ed (February 16, 2020). How Sega conquered the video games industry – and then threw it all away.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Bankhurst, Adam (February 2, 2024). Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Adds Krysten Ritter, Cristo Fernández, Alyla Browne, and More (in en-US).
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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