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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 opens in theaters today and considering the first two entries in the Sonic franchise are among some of the best video game movies to date, expectations are certainly high. The new movie will continue to bring the expansive lore of the video game franchise onto the big screen. However, that will be limited to the introduction of Shadow the Hedgehog, voiced by Keanu Reeves.
If you’re unfamiliar with the massive Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise, then just know that there are a lot of characters who have appeared in dozens of games over the decades. However, Sonic 3 director Jeff Fowler tells Comicbook.com that the new movie limited the introductions to Shadow to not overwhelm the film with new characters. He explained…
I think we were all very focused on Shadow. When you have a cast that’s already of this size, there’s four CG characters in this movie, you want to be careful and not throw too many in the mix. (Shadow’s) backstory is so important that we get that right. But those elements are within the Sonic movie. So it really has to be balanced. Everything, story-wise, needs to be in proper proportion. And then also adding Gerald (Robotnik), obviously, into the mix. So very quickly, your screen real estate shrinks, as you bring in these interesting characters and you want to do interesting things with them and give great story arcs.
Shadow isn’t the only “new” character in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Jim Carrey does double duty in the movie, both returning as Dr. Robotnik and playing his own grandfather. Many critics think Carrey steals the movie, making Keanu’s debut as Shadow less impressive than it perhaps could have been. If that’s the case, one can only imagine how buried any of the other characters would have been if there had been even more to introduce, explain, and incorporate into the story.
The Sonic the Hedgehog series has had a consistent structure when it comes to introducing characters. The post-credits scene of each movie introduces a new player who then becomes a focus in the following movie. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 gave us both Tails and Knuckles and with three CGI anthropomorphic animals, Sonic 3 became the first story where the human characters (save Robotnik) aren’t major players in the plot, letting Team Sonic take the lead.
Not to spoil anything, but Sonic the Hedgehog 3 does have a post-credits scene which does introduce new characters, and considering that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has already been officially confirmed, we know that we’ll get to see more of them. And if the franchise continues, there are still plenty more characters to be introduced in one movie after another as long as they continue to give them all time to breathe.