Keanu Reeves has joined the cast of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, according to reports.
Per The Hollywood Reporter’s sources, the John Wick and Cyberpunk 2077 actor will voice Shadow the Hedgehog in the third film.
The news follows Paramount’s debut showing of Sonic 3 footage during CinemaCon last week, which reportedly included the revelation that Dr. Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey, was depressed and out of shape after the events of Sonic 2, “but gets his groove back thanks to creating Shadow the Hedgehog”.
Sonic 3 director Jeff Fowler recently announced that the third Sonic movie had concluded filming. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be released in cinemas on December 20, 2024.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the second highest-grossing video game movie of all time in the US. It reached the top spot prior to being overtaken by the Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Commenting on the success of the movies in a VGC interview, Sonic Team’s boss said it presented a welcome challenge for the studio because it now has a broader audience to satisfy with its game releases.
“Because of the success of the movies, we’re finding that we’re reaching into this wider audience of people who maybe never played the game before, or don’t play them that much,” Takashi Iizuka said. “It’s this wider group of fans who we need to start now making content for.
“Honestly, it makes us all very happy, because we have more people now that we can bring content to. It is a challenge though, because we have maybe new gamers or people who haven’t played previous Sonic games, so we don’t think we can go out there with on single game that will make the entire audience excited.”
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