Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (film)

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is an upcoming action adventure comedy film based on the video game series Sonic the Hedgehog 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 as Shadow the Hedgehog.

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.

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.

Development
In March 2020, James Marsden confirmed that he had signed on for multiple sequels to the original film. In February 2022, Sega Sammy Group and Paramount Pictures had been developing a third Sonic the Hedgehog film after Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022). The film was formally announced during ViacomCBS's investor event. Jeff Fowler returned as director, and Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Toru Nakahara, and Hitoshi Okuno returned as producers. Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington returned to write the screenplay, with the former two also being credited for the story, while Paul Greenberg and Oren Uziel received off-screen additional literary material credit. In addition, a spin-off television series for Paramount+, Knuckles, was developed simultaneously with the film. The film will draw inspiration from the video game Sonic Adventure 2 (2001).

In April 2022, Jim Carrey–who portrays Dr. Robotnik in the films–announced that he was considering retiring from acting. With his possible retirement, Moritz and Ascher confirmed that his role as Robotnik would not be recast in any sequels if he followed through with his retirement plans. However, they remained hopeful that they could develop scripts good enough for him to continue the role.

Filming
Second-unit filming began in late July 2023 for animated characters only without physical actors (due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike) in Farnham, Surrey, England. Principal photography was originally scheduled to begin on August 31, 2023, in London, England, but was delayed to September of that year. Production with physical actors started on November 29, 2023, and was announced with a teaser image of Shadow the Hedgehog's stand-in statue used in filming.

In February 2024, Carrey was officially confirmed to be reprising his role in the film, along with Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Idris Elba, Lee Majdoub, and Tom Butler. Krysten Ritter, Alyla Browne, James Wolk, Sofia Pernas, Cristo Fernández, and Jorma Taccone were cast in undisclosed roles; Taccone was previously hired as an episode director for the Knuckles series. On February 16, Browne's role was revealed as Maria. Schwartz began recording for the film by the week after.

Marsden said that filming had been completed by March 14, 2024, while Fowler officially revealed that the film had wrapped production on March 29. On April 15, 2024, it was reported that Keanu Reeves had joined the cast as the voice of Shadow the Hedgehog.

Animation
As a cost-cutting measure, the producers had an in-house animation team at Paramount work on both Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and the Knuckles series.

Music
Tom Holkenborg, who composed the score for the first two Sonic films, returned to score Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and had finished work by July 2024. In December 2023, Crush 40 vocalist Johnny Gioeli said there had been talks of including the song "Live & Learn" from Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) in the film. In February 2024, Gioeli confirmed "Live & Learn" would be included in the film.

Release
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States by Paramount Pictures on December 20, 2024, taking over the original release date of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies' The Smurfs Movie (2025).

Marketing
In April 2024 at CinemaCon, Paramount showcased first-look footage of the film, which featured a heavier Robotnik bemoaning his current state before his assistant Agent Stone informs that "they found him", and Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles fighting a silent Shadow.