Summary
Sonic the Hedgehog 3is now in cinemas around the world, bringing the next installment in the blue hedgehog’s story to life, which includes the introduction of Keanu Reeves’ Shadow. Like with previousSonic the Hedgehogfilms, the movie also includes a pair of post-credits sequences that hint at the future of the franchise.
Sonic the Hedgehogis a loose adaptation of SEGA’s long-running mascot platformer games. It features Sonic living on Earth with a human family, along with friends Tails and Knuckles, who were introduced inSonic the Hedgehog 2. The thirdSonicfilm adapts even more elements from the SEGA games, bringing the notorious antihero Shadow to the film, along with characters like Gerald and Maria Robotnik.Sonic the Hedgehog 3is the best-reviewed in the trilogy so far, meaning therecently announced fourth filmhas quite a high bar to live up to.
Sonic 3 Director Discusses Post-Credits Scenes
The rest of this article contains spoilers for the end ofSonic the Hedgehog 3.
As was rumored,Sonic the Hedgehog 3features multiple post-creditsequences that have major implications for the next films. The first features the introduction of Metal Sonic and Amy Rose, two recognizable characters from SEGA’s games. Director Jeff Fowler has commented on the choice of characters for Sonic 3’s after-credits scenes confirming toScreen Rantthat they “would never introduce characters at the end of one of these films that we weren’t already excited about where they could take the story.”
“Look, there are so many great characters. Sonic’s been around for over 30 years, we love working our way down the list, and it’s fun to watch the fans online speculate. Everyone’s got their favorites, on our side, everyone’s got their favorites. It’s fun to make the debate and, yeah, the story ideas, it’s a package deal. We would never introduce characters at the end of one of these films that we weren’t already excited about where they could take the story.”
Fowler added that when it came to choosing what would happen in the post-credits scenes they wanted to find characters that would take theSonicfilms in an exciting direction. “That’s really what determines what characters get chosen. It’s like, “What would be new? What would be interesting? What would be a fun direction to take our world?” he said. This indicates both Amy Rose and Metal Sonic will be playing important roles in the nextSonic the Hedgehogfilm, similar to Shadow who went on to have a major role in the third film after being teased in the post-credits ofSonic the Hedgehog 2. Metal Sonic is known as one of Sonic’s most dangerous foes, whileAmy Rose is one of his most valuable allies.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s Post-Credits Scenes Also Hint At a Future For Shadow
A second post-credits scene also revealed thatShadow the Hedgehog survivedthe events of the film, despite it seeming like he’d sacrificed himself to stop Gerald Robotnik’s Eclipse Cannon. If Fowler’s explanation for the post-credits choices holds true, this likely also means the dark hedgehog has a large future ahead of him in the franchise. With the addition of Amy Rose and Metal Sonic, plus the return of Shadow, the fourthSonicfilm will no doubt be one of the most exciting installments in the franchise yet.
