Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Casts The Perfect Shadow
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has finally cast the role of the Shadow, and they picked the perfect man for the job. According to Variety, Keanu Reeves will be voicing the brooding hedgehog in the upcoming film. Reeves will join a cast that includes Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Idris Elba as Knuckles, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails, and Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik.
Keanu Reeves Is Shadow
The Sonic movies have knocked it out of the park with casting so far, and Keanu Reeves as Shadow definitely continues that trend. Shadow the Hedgehog is one of the more brooding and dark characters in the Sonic franchise, so Keanu’s gruff voice should be a great fit for the character.
Plus, Keanu is a noted fan of video games (most recently playing an extensive role in Cyberpunk 2077), so his enthusiasm is surely going to rub off in his performance.
Doing Right By Shadow
Meanwhile, the Sonic film franchise has been solid video game adaptations throughout, and it seems like Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be doing justice to Shadow, who is a fan-favorite character.
Specifically, it looks like the film will be pulling elements from the beloved Sonic Adventure 2, which was the character’s debut.
This theory is further confirmed by the fact that Alyla Brown is playing Maria Robotnik, who plays a crucial role in Shadow’s origin story.
Other New Faces To Sonic
Along with Keanu Reeves playing Shadow and Alyla Brown playing Maria, the new cast for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 includes James Wolk, Sofia Pernas, Cristo Fernandez, Jorma Taccone, and Krysten Ritter. A
ll of their roles are currently undisclosed, but rumors strongly suggest that Ritter will be voicing Rouge the Bat, who also made her debut in Sonic Adventure 2.
Other returning cast members alongside Schwartz, O’Shaughnessey, Carrey, and Elba include James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Lee Majdoub, and Tom Butler.
Brief Reference In Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Jeff Fowler is returning to direct Sonic the Hedgehog 3 with Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Toru Nakahara, and Hitoshi Okuno produced.
Now that Keanu Reeves has been revealed as the voice of Shadow, hopefully, that means we’ll get an official look at the character in a trailer sooner rather than later.
Fans who saw Sonic the Hedgehog 2 got a brief tease of the character in the post-credits scene and have patiently been waiting to see more of him ever since.
Idris Elba As Knuckles
While we wait to see Keanu Reeves’ debut as Shadow the Hedgehog, fans can look forward to more of Paramount’s cinematic Sonicverse when the Knuckles TV miniseries hits Paramount+ later this month.
Idris Elba returns to voice the character as he teaches Wade Whipple (Adam Pally) the ways of the Echidna warrior. That series is set to debut on Paramount’s streaming platform on April 26 with six episodes.
Keanu Reeves Coming Back With John Wick
Outside of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Keanu Reeves is also set to appear in the John Wick spin-off Ballerina, which stars Ana de Armas. Reeves also has the film Good Fortune with Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer, and Sandra Oh on his slate. You can see Reeves as Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 when it hits theaters on December 20.
Source: Variety
