Sonic the Hedgehog 3: Everything you need to know

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be speeding into cinemas next year, but we’re still waiting on any new information on the threequel.

The third movie was confirmed even before Sonic the Hedgehog 2 came out in cinemas, along with a spin-off for Knuckles, voiced by Idris Elba, who made his big-screen debut in the sequel.

We do, however, know the release date for the new movie, although if it stays where it is, it’ll face some major competition at the box office. (More on that in a bit.)

While we wait for any new information, here’s everything you need to know about Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 release date: When can we expect Sonic the Hedgehog 3?

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be speeding into cinemas on December 20, 2024, assuming there aren’t any delays. This was confirmed in early August 2022, marking a slightly longer wait than fans are used to for the big-screen adventures of Sonic.

It’s a change from the previous two movies which were released in the earlier part of the year (February 2020 and April 2022, respectively). The box-office success of those movies shows that a Christmas release makes total sense.

If it sticks to this date, the threequel will be going head-to-head with Avatar 3 at the box office as it’s released the same day. Technically, they’re both going for different audiences, but given the record-breaking success of The Way of Water, we wouldn’t blame Sonic for speeding off to a new release date instead.

There’s been no announcement on when production will start on the threequel, but we imagine it’ll have to start this year as like the other two movies, there will be a significant amount of time spent on the visual effects.

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Watch Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on Prime Video

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 cast: Who’s coming back for Sonic the Hedgehog 3?

We haven’t had any official confirmations of returning cast for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make some educated guesses.

Ben Schwartz will, of course, be back as Sonic and he’ll likely be joined again by Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails and Idris Elba as Knuckles.

Jim Carrey revealed his imminent retirement from his long acting career in the wake of Sonic 2‘s release. He said he is “fairly serious” about taking a break from the industry, and if that’s the case, we might not see Robotnik in the threequel.

Sonic producers Toby Ascher and Neal H Moritz have said they “wouldn’t even try” to recast the role. “Jim Carrey is always a member of the Sonic family and he’ll always have a place in these movies and TV shows as long as he’d like to be around,” Ascher explained.

“We love Jim and he’s so special, and what he does with Robotnik is so incredible. We would love him as long as he’d like to be there with us.”

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In terms of the other human characters, expect to see James Marsden and Tika Sumpter back as Sonic’s ‘parents’ Tom and Maddie Wachowski, Lee Majdoub as Robotnik’s long-suffering employee Agent Stone and Adam Pally as Green Hills deputy sheriff Wade Whipple.

We could see Tom Butler back as Commander Walters since GUN might play a bigger part in the third movie with Shadow’s arrival, while Natasha Rothwell could return as Maddie’s older sister Rachel and Shemar Moore as her fiancé Randall.

It’s unclear who will be voicing Shadow the Hedgehog in the third movie after Shadow’s arrival was teased in the credit scene. Kirk Thornton currently voices the character in the series, but we’d expect the role to be recast for Shadow’s big-screen debut.

Co-writer Pat Casey revealed Shadow is “driven by anger and revenge” and that Sonic’s attempts to befriend Shadow won’t go as smoothly as they did with Knuckles.

“Sonic’s never had to deal with someone as emotionally damaged like Shadow…when he sees Shadow, he’s like, ‘Well, I’ll just teach him about the power of friendship, like with Knuckles!’ But that’s not going to work on Shadow,” he told the Green Hill Zone podcast.

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Aside from Shadow, could we see more Sonic video game characters make their way to the big screen?

Shadow’s origin story in the games involves the likes of Dr Robotnik’s grandfather Gerald Robotnik and his cousin Maria Robotnik. However, there is every chance that the story has been adjusted for the movies.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 plot: What is Sonic the Hedgehog 3 about?

No plot details have yet been confirmed for the third movie, but it’ll definitely pick up from the credit scene tease.

This scene returned to the scene of the climax as GUN searched for Robotnik, but no sign could be found. Agent Stone (Lee Majdoub) is seen sneaking around though, so there’s no doubt he’s helped his boss escape.

And we then got our first glimpse of Shadow the Hedgehog, who will surely be around to cause trouble for Sonic in the threequel. Fowler wouldn’t go into more details but did share his excitement with ComicBook.com.

“I’m hesitant to go into too much detail, only because it’s obviously still very early. I will say that we are teasing a character that I’m incredibly excited about. It’s very personal to me as a fan,” he noted.

As for what the cast wants to see, O’Shaughnessey told Digital Spy that, first and foremost, she hoped Tails would be back: “I hope we get to see more and more of him, and see where his gadgets can take everybody.”

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Carrey added: “I think [Robotnik] should get into nanotechnology. I’d like his machines to be released in an aerosol that can be ingested in the human body and turn people into him.” Here’s hoping Carrey decides to stick around to make it happen!

Schwartz isn’t giving any specific plot details away, but he did tease what we can expect from it to The Playlist: “For [the sequel], we blew it out so much, and for 3, it’s going to be bananas, it’s going to be crazy! I can’t wait.”