No one expected it, but theSonic the Hedgehogmovie series has been a rousing success. The two films released so far have broken away from the typical video game movie curse and impressed fans and casual audiences alike. NeitherSonic the Hedgehogfilm is particularly incredible, but they are both competently-done interpretations of the looseSonicstory. Sandwiched in between the releases of two Nintendo movies, and also preceded by theMortal Kombatreboot film, it feels like video game movies are finally starting to land en masse.
TheSonicfilms offer a unique interpretation of theSonicstoryline. Sonic the Hedgehog, played by Ben Schwartz, is stranded on amundane Earth like inSonic X, but Sonic and his fellow animal people are all aliens. Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey, is from Earth, but his intellect and government funding allows him to produce the same robots he does in the games. Sonic befriends a cop named Tom, played by James Marsden, and meets Tails and Knuckles in the second film. Both installments have ended with teasers of something that’s going to be relevant in another movie, andSonic’s success means there’s likely to be a third.
Discussing the returning element inSonic the Hedgehog 2will involve spoilers for the movie.
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A Familiar Face is Coming to the Third Sonic Movie
After covering the events ofSonic 1,2,3, andSonic and Knucklesin the first two films, it appears that the third movie is jumping all the way toSonic Adventure 2. In a post-credits scene, agents of GUN discover files pointing towards Project Shadow, which was shut down 50 years prior.Shadow the Hedgehog himself is briefly seen, and Robotnik’s right-hand man Agent Stone overhears the GUN personnel talking. It appears that the third movie will involve the fully-formed Team Sonic fighting against Shadow, and possibly some equivalent to the original Team Dark.
Shadow the Hedgehog was introduced inSonic Adventure 2as the latest rival to Sonic. Knuckles and various versions ofMetal Sonic originally held that role, with Metal Sonic having reclaimed it in recent years. However, much like Vegeta’s original appearance inDragon Ball Z, Shadow debuted as an especially charismatic antagonist that took the fandom by storm. Believing Maria and Gerald Robotnik’s final requests were both for vengeance, Shadow hijacked Eggman’s latest power grab and threatened to destroy humanity.
Despite being shown sacrificing himselfat the end ofSonicAdventure 2, his popularity ensured that Eggman had him rescued and put into stasis. This fractured Shadow’s unstable memory even further, and he spent the next few games trying to recover it. Shadow is now an agent of GUN and one of Sonic’s most trusted allies, even if he only shows up for minor roles nowadays.
How Shadow Can Be Used in Sonic the Hedgehog 3
The most likely outcome of Shadow’s movie introduction is that he will continue his crusade against humanity fromSonic Adventure 2. Through a partial recollection of Maria Robotnik’s dying words, Shadow will wish to take revenge for her and Gerald Robotnik. Agent Stone could sway Shadow to his side by using theirshared loyalty to the Robotnik nameas leverage.
Ifthe GUN-affiliated Rouge the Bat appearsor another GUN agent pretends to defect to Stone’s side, then a rough approximation of Team Dark would form. Shadow would then frame Sonic while the other villains steal the Chaos Emeralds to activate some equivalent to the Eclipse Cannon. Team Sonic would be able to counter with someSonic Heroes-esque team attacks, but even that may not be able to stop Shadow if he has all of his Chaos powers. Depending on how closeSonic 3hews toAdventure 2, it may also be the first movie to bring Sonic’s battles to outer space.
After that it becomes a little harder to guess at the plot, especially considering that Shadow originally had alien heritage, but now may truly be the same species as Sonic. It’s not clear if this version of Shadow will be a creation of Gerald, or if he simply befriended Gerald and Maria like Sonic did with Tom.Shadow had a lot of Chaos energy powersin the games, but in the movies he’ll probably share whatever power source Sonic and Knuckles use. Gerald’s research may be brought up to finally explain what this is.
At any rate, Shadow will cleanly fit into the role of the main villain of the thirdSonicmovie, and there aren’t many more characters who need to be introduced to make him work. If the film goes something like that, thenSonic the Hedgehog 3should end with the human cast helping Shadow remember Maria’s good intentions, motivating him to sacrifice himself just like in the games.
