Sonic 3’s director is teasing a character reveal for a potential Sonic 4 movie

videogameschronicle.com:

The upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie will tease a new character who could appear in a potential fourth movie, it’s claimed.

Paramount’s first two Sonic films both ended with cliffhangers revealing new characters set to star in the following sequel, starting with Tails in Sonic 1 and Shadow and the conclusion of Sonic 2.

Now, according to Sonic 3 director Jeff Fowler, the third film will tease yet another character reveal when it arrives in cinemas on December 20.

Entertainment Weekly wrote in a new interview feature that Sonic 3 will “set the stage for a potential fourth movie to introduce another video game character after Tails and now Shadow.”

Director Fowler told the publication: “It’s fun to see the fan debates online about who’s coming up next, who’s going to be teased at the end of the film. We have a lot of the same conversations.

“We’ve all got our favorites on the filmmaking side, and we’re all making great cases for ‘it should be this one or that one.’ It is fun to keep that anticipation. This movie is no different in terms of teasing new characters.”

There’s currently no confirmation of movie plans beyond Sonic 3, but considering the franchise’s huge success so far, it’s likely Paramount and Sega will wish to continue.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the second highest-grossing video game movie ever in the US. It reached the top spot prior to being overtaken by the Super Mario Bros. Movie last year.

Commenting on the success of the movies in a VGC interview in 2022, 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.”