Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Might Be A Good Stopping Point (For Now) (2024)

Sonic the Hedgehog, arguably, has the most dedicated fanbase of any franchise. While The Blue Blur's video game entries have been less consistent in terms of quality than Nintendo rival Mario, Sonic's fans have always gone to bat for their favorite hedgehog. This became more than apparent when the first trailer dropped and Sonic's uncanny and unhinged original design touched a nerve for fans. The response was swift, vicious, and came at the creative team like a tsunami. Thankfully, Tyson Hesse, beloved illustrator, director, producer known for his work within the Sonic franchise, stepped in to help with the redesign. Again, the response was quick, but this time, much to director Jeff Fowler's relief, it was positive. As a result, fans faithfully came out in droves on Valentine's Day to see the world's most popular hedgehog in action. It was a delight, as was its follow-up sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Both films have kickstarted excitement for the series in the mainstream that hasn't been seen for decades and has introduced Sonic to a new generation of fans in an accessible way.

With that said, perhaps after Sonic the Hedgehog 3, it would be best for the series to pump the brakes for a bit. It's not that the appetite for Sonic is waning. If anything, this third installment featuring breakout Shadow, voiced by John Wick himself, Keanu Reeves, has generated the most excitement. Still, if the film is going to follow Shadow's original backstory, it might be worth taking a break to assess just where to take the series next.

Things are About to Get a Lot Darker

The trailer shows Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles teaming up with G.U.N. (Guardian Units of Nations) to capture Shadow. Now, G.U.N. in Sonic Adventure 2, which is the basis for a large portion of the movie as seen in the trailer, is very different. In that game, G.U.N. are the undisputed antagonists. Decades prior to the start of the game, they infiltrated Gerald Robotnik's space station, Ark. (Gerald Robotnik is the grandfather of Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey in the films.) They held him hostage, forced him to continue experiments, and also murdered a team of scientists as well as a child. That child, Maria, was Gerald Robotnik's granddaughter and Shadow's only friend. She was shot and killed trying to help Shadow escape. Throughout the game, Shadow is on a quest for vengeance against humanity for Maria's death. The trailer shows Gerald Robotnik and Shadow looking down at a corpse in a burned down lab as soldiers, possibly G.U.N., enter the wreckage. This suggests that the film is going to keep Maria's death as Shadow's motivation in the film.

Up until now, the Sonic films have firmly been family-friendly affairs. While the first film began with Longclaw's implied sacrifice, Maria's death is something else all together. While G.U.N. are no longer pursuing Sonic and his friends as of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the timeline suggests that G.U.N. were not the ones to kill Maria given that they only formed after Sonic's appearance, some military force could still be responsible for her death. This could lead Sonic to question his involvement with G.U.N. It is unlikely that the Sonic films will question American militarism. After all, Sonic's closest human friend, Tom Wachowski, is a police officer. However, perhaps Shadow revealing his backstory will push Sonic further away from humanity, choosing to spend more time with his animal/alien friends.

Donut Lord is No Longer Necessary

Speaking of Tom Wachowski, one of the smartest things that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 did was put Tom, Maddie, and Rachel out of the picture for the most part, designating them to the Hawaii wedding plot. Although James Marsden is charismatic and Tika Sumpter does provide some comedy by being a straight man, the strength of these actors does not negate the fact that Tom and Maddie are no longer needed for Sonic's story to continue. Tom and Maddie, in the first Sonic film, were presented as point of view characters to adjust to Sonic and test mainstream audience appetite for the legacy video game character. Now that the Sonic franchise is going into its third installment, Tom and Maddie simply aren't relevant, and it's time for Sonic to move on and return to his home planet on an adventure separate from them. While Tom is seen in the trailer wearing a G.U.N. uniform of all things during what appears to be a climatic scene, he and Maddie are shown sparingly, which is a good thing. A pause between Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and the fourth film would give the creative team time to evaluate how best to continue on without the characters that bridged the gap between old and new fans.

Jim Carrey is Eyeing Retirement

Jim Carrey's performance as Ivo Robotnik has been one of the best parts of the Sonic film franchise. His manic energy and over the top gesticulations are perfect for the mad scientist, and he will have the opportunity to play a double role as Gerald Robotnik. However, prior to Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Carrey expressed a desire to retire from acting altogether. Producers Neal Moritz and Toby Ascher said that if he had decided not to go ahead with the film, they wouldn't even think about recasting him, which is for the best. Carrey seems to hold Robotnik in similar esteem, as evidenced by his return for the upcoming third installment. Even so, Carrey has had a long, illustrious career, and it makes sense that after Sonic the Hedgehog 3, he would want to retire for good, even if it meant he couldn't play Robotnik. With Sonic's most iconic villain no longer part of the franchise, the creative team would really need to evaluate the best way to move forward.

The Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise has been an amazing boost for the long-running video game franchise. However, if these films are going to continue and continue to be a success, it is necessary to pause and reflect before jumping into the next film. The Sonic franchise has a lot to offer and plenty of fun characters to choose from. Amy? Rouge? Robotnik's creation Metal Sonic? All of these characters would be a blast to see on the big screen. Even so, their inclusion would require care and thought, similar to what fans have seen in the films thus far. Sonic fans waited a long time to see The Blue Blur in theaters. They would be happy to wait more if it meant that the characters they love were given proper thought and representation.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog is a prolific game franchise that started life on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Covering both 2D and 3D iterations through the generations, Sonic is known for speedy movements and interesting platforming mechanics.

Sega

Paramount

Paramount is a fairly recent (2019 founding) mass media company that used to operate under the name ViacomCBS. They have grow into their own production company and are also producing original content via a streaming service called Paramount Plus.