Keanu Reeves to Voice Shadow in ‘Sonic 3’

The actor will be lending his voice to the character, described a Sonic’s dark twin, and originally introduced in a 2001 ‘Sonic’ video game title.

Keanu Reeves as John Wick in 'John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.'

Preview:

Keanu Reeves is reportedly lending his voice to ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’.
Jeff Fowler once more directed the movie.
‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ will be in theaters on December 20th.

While Paramount touted the success of its ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ franchise at its big CinemaCon presentation last week (and showed a footage snippet of the upcoming third entry –– more on that below), the studio stopped short of announcing who would be voicing Shadow the Hedgehog, a new character (at least in the movies) who will be causing trouble for our hero.

But now, thanks to The John Campea Show (and since confirmed by the trades), the news has leaked that no less an actor than Keanu Reeves will be providing the voice for shadow. With ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ wrapped for a while and post-production already under way, we assume he’s already started in the voice booth or will be reporting for duty shortly.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Not Yet RatedDec 20th, 2024

Showtimes & Tickets

The third film in the "Sonic the Hedgehog" franchise. Read the Plot

What’s the story of ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’?

Jim Carrey in 'Sonic The Hedgehog 2' from Paramount Pictures and Sega. Photo Credit: Courtesy Paramount Pictures and Sega of America.

Nothing has been officially released about the story for the new ‘Sonic’ movie, though we can predict more speedy behavior from the main character and a fresh devious scheme from Robotnik, though the footage shown at CinemaCon shows Jim Carrey’s villain as out of shape and depressed, only to get his groove back when he creates Shadow, described as a dark twin for the titular hero.

How James Marsden’s Tom Wachowski figures in this time remains to be seen, and we’ll also see the return of Sonic’s fellow CG creations Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba) and Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey). Ben Schwartz, of course, returns to voice Sonic.

Rumors have suggested a potential trip through time and the film’s social media account kicked off the start of shoot with a teaser for Shadow.

Who is Shadow the Hedgehog?

Jim Carrey and Knuckles (Idris Elba) in 'Sonic The Hedgehog 2' from Paramount Pictures and Sega. Photo Credit: Courtesy Paramount Pictures and Sega of America.

Shadow, created by Takashi Iizuka and Shiro Maekawa, first appeared in 2001’s ‘Sonic Adventure 2’.

In the games’ canon, he was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik, the grandfather of the series’ antagonist Doctor Robotnik. After witnessing the death of his best friend Maria Robotnik, Shadow initially seeks revenge, but later vows to keep his promise to her that he would protect the world from danger. An antihero, Shadow has good intentions but will do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals, putting him at odds with Sonic.

From the sounds of it, the movie is tweaking his origin story to bring in more of the movie’s narrative, but we’ll see how it all shakes out.

Who is making ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’?

Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik in 'Sonic the Hedgehog.' Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Jeff Fowler is once again directing the third movie, having handled the first two, with the script from regular writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller.

Neal H. Moritz is producing this one, as he has the others.

The ‘Sonic’ universe has so far spawned the three movies and the upcoming TV spin-off featuring the Knuckles character, which kicks off on April 26th.