Shadow the Hedgehog (film)

Shadow the Hedgehog is an upcoming science fantasy action-adventure film based on the video game of the same name published by Sega. It is the sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) and the 13th installment of the VPZverse overall, and fourth installment of the "Omega" series. It is written, produced and directed by Ethan Vasquez and co-written by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, John Whittington, and Zack Snyder. The film stars Keanu Reeves as the titular character, Ben Schwartz, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Idris Elba, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Scarlett Johansson, Dakota Fanning, Tom Butler, Tim Curry, Lee Majdoub, Adam Driver, Alyla Browne, and Jim Carrey.
In the film, the anti-heroic eponymous protagonist, Shadow the Hedgehog, who is suffering from amnesia, goes to extreme measures by going on a journey to discover the truth about his past and find out who - or what - he really is, all the while caught up in a three sided war between his friends, G.U.N., the Eggman Empire, and a strange race of alien invaders who open multiversal portals and visitors from alternate realities are brought into Shadow's universe.
Distributed by Paramount Pictures, Shadow the Hedgehog was produced by Sega Sammy Group, Original Film, The Stone Quarry and VPZPictures, in association with Marza Animation Planet, and Blur Studio.
Shadow the Hedgehog is the first live-action theatrical Sonic the Hedgehog film to receive both a PG-13 rating and an R-rating (for the director's cut) from the Motion Picture Association.
Shadow the Hedgehog received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise directed toward Vasquez's direction, the performances, musical score, and action sequences, while mixed reception was aimed towards the mature themes, dark tone, and depiction of violence.
An R-rated extended cut, which adds more 43 minutes of footage to the film, will release at Paramount+ sometime. However, even though the R-rated director's cut still received positive reception, the addition of more violent content (blood/gore) and stronger language was heavily criticized by both Sonic fans and film critics alike.
==Premise==
Shadow, a hedgehog suffering from amnesia, sets out on an adventure to uncover his cloudy past and discover who - or what - he really is, while finding himself caught up in a three-sided war between the G.U.N army, Dr. Eggman and a strange race of alien creatures, of which the latter is opening multiversal portals. 
Shadow is determined to get to the bottom of this whole affair and will stop at nothing to get the information he wants, even going so far as to pile on the pressure...
==Cast ==
===Voice cast=== 
*Keanu Reeves as Shadow the Hedgehog
*Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog
*Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Miles "Tails" Prower
*Idris Elba as Knuckles the Echidna
*Scarlett Johansson as Rouge the Bat
*Dakota Fanning as Amy Rose
*Adam Driver as Metal Sonic
*Tim Curry as Black Doom
===Live-action cast===
*James Marsden as Tom Wachowski
*Tom Butler as Commander Walters
*Tika Sumpter as Maddie Wachowski
*Jim Carrey in a dual role as the following:
**Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik
**Gerald Robotnik
*Lee Majdoub as Agent Stone
*Alyla Browne as Maria Robotnik
==Parental Guidance==
===Classification=== 
*Australia: M 
**Australia: MA15+ (director's cut)
*Brazil: 12
**Brazil: 16 (director's cut)
*Canada: 14A 
**Canada: 18A (director's cut)
*Denmark: 11 
**Denmark: 15 (director's cut)
*Finland: 12 
**Finland: 16 (director's cut)
*France: -12 
**France: -16 (director's cut)
*Germany: 12
**Germany: 16 (director's cut)
*Hong Kong: IIB
**Hong Kong: III (director's cut)
*Italy: 14+ 
**Italy: 18+ (director's cut)
* Japan: PG12 
**Japan: R15+ (director's cut)
*Mexico: B 
**Mexico: B-15 (director's cut)
* New Zealand: RP13 
**New Zealand: RP16 (director's cut)
*Norway: 12 
**Norway: 15 (director's cut)
*Portugal: M/14
** Portugal: M/16 (director's cut)
*United Kingdom: 12 
** United Kingdom: 15 (director's cut)
* United States: PG-13
**United States: R (director's cut)
===Sex and Nudity (Mild/Moderate)===
* Rouge the Bat wears suggestive clothing, revealing some cleavage.
*In the director's cut, we can see Rouge and Shadow engaging in sexual activities.
*In the director's cut, some of the aliens' guns have a phallic design.
=== Violence and Gore (Moderate/Severe)===
*There is a lot of offscreen and implied violence, including a scene of Maria Robotnik getting shot.
*However, in the director's version, there are additions of new scenes, which are more violent and even bloody, or changes to some of the violent scenes already present in the original version to be shown with more detail.
===Profanity (Moderate/Severe)===
*There is surprisingly a large amount of swearing for a PG-13 movie, and may catch some young viewers off guard.
*Like the original Shadow the Hedgehog video game, the film contains frequent uses of "damn", and "hell".
*However, in the R-rated director's cut, the dialogue contains stronger language, like frequent uses of "sh*t" and even "f*ck".
===Alcohol, Drugs and Smoking (Mild/Moderate)===
*Shadow can be seen smoking cigarettes.
===Frightening & Intense Scenes (Moderate/Severe)=== 
*The film, overall, is much more mature than all of the other Sonic the Hedgehog films. Darker themes are to the extreme, and these themes may be unsettling or scary to younger viewers.
*Some of the evil aliens shown in the film may be a little unsettling to younger viewers, especially Black Doom.
*The director's cut is also much more intense than the original film, as it contains much more mature themes and brings a more frightening tone to the evil aliens, as well as taking the film itself seriously.
Category:VPZPictures
Category:Films distributed by Paramount
Category:SEGA
Category:Original Film
Category:Films set in 2021
Category:Films set in 1969
Category:Films set in the 1960s
Category:Sonic the Hedgehog
Category:Shadow the Hedgehog
Category:VPZverse
Category:Films about revenge