April 17, 2024

Keanu Reeves to Star in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 as Shadow the Hedgehog

Keanu Reeves has officially been cast as Shadow the Hedgehog, ending years of rumours and debates on who would voice the character. By: Kritchanon Tan Kian Wei

US - John Wick and The Matrix star Keanu Reeves will join the Sonic the Hedgehog cinematic universe in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, voicing the character of Shadow the Hedgehog, the anti-hero who was teased at the end of the second film.

The news comes days after footage of the film was screened behind closed-doors at CinemaCon 2024, and after SEGA, the company behind the Sonic the Hedgehog videogames, recently announced their newest campaign titled, Fearless: Year of Shadow, a year-long campaign dedicated to the character Reeves will voice in the film, featuring numerous tie-ins and culminating with Shadow the Hedgehog’s appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

This is not Reeves’ first foray into voice acting, as the 59-year-old had previously voiced the character of Duke Caboom in Pixar’s Toy Story 4 in 2019. The Canadian actor was also directly referenced in the first Sonic the Hedgehog film, when the titular character references Reeves and his role in the 1994 film Speed, exclaiming while watching the movie: “Keanu! You are a national treasure.”

Directed by Jeff Fowler and starring Ben Schwartz, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Idris Elba, James Marsden, Jim Carrey and now Keanu Reeves, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 speeds into US theatres December 20 2024.

Meanwhile, on April 26 on Paramount+, all six episodes of a spin-off series set between Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 titled Knuckles will release, and will see Elba reprising his role as Knuckles the Echidna, with Schwartz and O’Shaughnessey guest starring as Sonic and Tails as well.

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