This article contains spoilers forSonic The Hedgehog 3
Summary
The blue blur is racing back into everyone’s lives, as Jeff Fowler returns to directSonic the Hedgehog 3. Ben Schwartz is back to voice the titular hedgehog alongside other series alumni including Colleen O’Shaughnessey (Tails) and Idris Elba (Knuckles). The trio faces off against Jim Carrey in dual roles as Dr. Ivo Robotnik and Professor Gerald Robotnik, while Keanu Reeves makes his debut as Shadow the Hedgehog. Of course, John Wick isn’t the only newcomer toSonic the Hedgehog 3.
Since the firstSonic the Hedgehogmovie was released in 2020, Fowler has teased the next installment with a series of mid and post-credit scenes. With the first teasing Tails for its 2020 sequel,Sonic the Hedgehog 2then set the stage forSonic the Hedgehog 3with a Shadow reveal. Some of the many Sonic gameslooselyinspire the movies, and by the looks of it,Sonic the Hedgehog 4will be inspired by the belovedSonic CD.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s Post-Credit Scene Finally adds Amy Rose and Metal Sonic
Sonic the Hedgehog 3endswith a seemingly shocking character death that made it looks like Shadow’s time in the franchise was over before it’s even begun. Shadow seemingly sacrifices himself (more on that later) after pushing Gerald Robotnik’s malfunctioning Eclipse Cannon into space, while Ivo Robotnik also gets something of a heroic end. James Marsden’s Tom survives his injuries, and the heroes reunite on Earth for two franchise-altering post-credit scenes that introduce two fan-favorite video game characters to the mythos.
After besting Tails and Knuckles in a race to a New York state park, Sonic is unexpectedly greeted by Metal Sonic. Although the two seemingly don’t know each other,Metal Sonichas been stalking Sonic and is soon joined by an army of clones from the treeline. Created by Dr. Eggman (Ivo Robotnik) and introduced in 1993’sSonic CD, Metal Sonic is a ‘Badnik’ robot known as a ruthless killing machine tasked with destroying the original Sonic. With a gun-wielding Shadow taking the third movie in a darker direction, audiences can expect more of the same from Metal Sonic.
Thankfully, Sonic is saved by a mystery figure in a robe. A pink blur zooms in to save the day, and after plenty of speculation,Amy Roseis finally confirmed for the Sonicverse. Wielding her signature Piko Piko Hammer, Amy makes light work of the Metal Sonic army and looks like she’ll be a major player inSonic 4. Amy Rose was created for the short-livedSonicmanga series that ran from 1992 until 1933 but made her video game debut inSonic CD. Despite making waves as the franchise’s first female character, Amy Rose was something of a one-dimensional damsel in distress during her early days.
The Sonic family continues to grow, and as for the aforementioned ‘death’ of Shadow, there’s a last-minute fakeout where some familiar-looking shoes touch down and he picks up his golden bracelets. Remembering rumors that there are plans togive Shadow a spin-offakin to Elba leading theKnucklesseries, it makes sense that the studio would capitalize on the popularity of Reeves. Looking at what comes next, Metal Sonic gives the team a villain to take on, while Amy Rosecouldbe Sonic’s love interest. There have been some complaints about Amy Rose’s portrayal in the games, especially as she’s sometimes depicted as fawning after Sonic even though he might not have romantic feelings for her. By the looks of it, this version is a hardened heroine akin to Lara Croft, not just another Mary Sue.
The Legacy of Sonic CD
Up there withSonic Generations,Sonic Mania, andSonic 3 & Knuckles,Sonic CDfrequently appears on lists of the franchise’s ‘best’ games. Although the game started life as a port of 1991’sSonic the Hedgehog,Sonicco-creator Naoto Ohshima wanted to show off what the Sega CD could really do. Things evolved into a much more ambitious project that ended up being the best-selling Sega CD game after it sold an impressive 1.5 million copies. Still, the game’s few critics say thatSonic CDfailed to make the most of the Sega CD’s capabilities.
As well as being dubbed one of the bestSonicgames,Sonic CD’s legacy has lived on through a Windows PC port in 1996, and as part of theSonic Gems Collectionfor PlayStation 2 and GameCube in 2005. There was also a Retro Engine remake that was released in 2011 and later included as part of 2022’sSonic Originscompilation. In terms of whereSonic CDcan take the series, the fact the game is a spacefaring adventure that also involves time travel could be a hint of what’s to come.
Sonic CDfollowed Sonic trying to stop Doctor Robotnik from getting his hands on the magical Time Stones and taking over an extraterrestrial body called Little Planet. AsCarrey famously came out of retirement forSonic 3and Robotnik looks like he’s finally vanquished, it could be time to look for a new enemy. Metal Sonic could be the villain on his own, especially ifSonic the HedgehogfollowsSonic Heroes, which seems even more likely considering aSonic Heroesremaster is rumored to be in the works.
In theoriginalSonic Heroes, Sonic and Tails are warned by Doctor Robotnik that he plans to take over the world with his Egg Fleet. It was later revealed that Robotnik hadn’t been contacting them at all, and it was actually Metal Sonic after he’d betrayed his master’s orders. Discussing his plans forSonic 4withDexerto, Fowler said that he likes to ‘cherry-pick’ ideas from different games and described it as a ‘melting pot’:
“Obviously, with Sonic 3 going back to Sonic Adventure 2 where Shadow first appeared, it felt like that was the most obvious place to really be pulling story points and just the vibe that we think fans would get excited about seeing. So that was a very specific sort of focus.”
Elsewhere, Fowler could be inspired by theSonic the Comicseries where abandoned Metal Sonic(s) formed the Brotherhood of Metallix and made their own leader known as Emperor Metallix. Similar to howSonic the Hedgehog 3found influences fromSonic Adventure 2andShadow the Hedgehog, fans can expectSonic the Hedgehog 4to be another amalgamation of some belovedSonicgames. Either way, withSonic 3having already sped past $62 million at the box office, this is one franchise that looks like it’ll continue racing to the top of the charts for some time to come.
