Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is an upcoming 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 ViacomCBS'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 is scheduled to be theatrically released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on December 20, 2024.
== Premise ==
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles must face a mysterious adversary, Shadow the Hedgehog, as Dr. Robotnik re-emerges after his defeat with a new plan.
== Cast ==
===Voice cast ===
*Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog: An anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds.
*Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Miles "Tails" Prower: An anthropomorphic yellow-orange fox who can fly with his twin-tails.
*Idris Elba as Knuckles the Echidna: A hot-headed and serious anthropomorphic red echidna warrior with super strength.
*Keanu Reeves as Shadow the Hedgehog: An anthropomorphic red-striped black hedgehog resulting from a secret government program called Project Shadow.
===Live-action cast===
*James Marsden as Tom Wachowski, the adoptive father of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, and the sheriff of Green Hills, Montana.
*Tika Sumpter as Maddie Wachowski, Tom's wife, the adoptive mother of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, and the local veterinarian of Green Hills.
*Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik, a mad scientist and Sonic's arch-nemesis who he often refers to as "Eggman".
* Lee Majdoub as Agent Stone, Robotnik's assistant.
*Tom Butler as Commander Walters, the former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is the leader of the military organization Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N.).
*Alyla Browne as Maria
Additionally, Krysten Ritter, Sofia Pernas, Cristo Fernández, James Wolk, and Jorma Taccone were cast in undisclosed roles.
==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.
==Videos==
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - Official Trailer
==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
Category:Movies
Category:2024 films
Category:Adventure films
Category:Paramount Pictures films
Category:Sequels
Category:Action films
Category:Paramount Pictures animated films
Category:Live Action films
Category:Live-action films based on cartoons
Category:2024 American films
Category:2024 adventure films
Category:Upcoming sequel films
Category:Upcoming English-language films
Category:Upcoming films
Category:Films starring Ben Schwartz
Category:Films starring Keanu Reeves
Category:Films starring Idris Elba
Category:Films starring Jim Carrey
Category:Films starring James Marsden