Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the biggest adventure yet in the live-action series, and fans and movie-goers can experience the epic showdown between Team Sonic and Shadow, a powerful and mysterious hedgehog. Ben Schwartz reprises his role as the voice of Sonic, and for fans worried that Jim Carrey was retiring from acting, he is back in all his zany glory as he plays not one but two Dr. Robotniks.

Helming the project is Jeff Fowler, who never believed in the news that Carrey was retired from acting.

“I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, which is, I never really believed that he was truly retired,” Fowler tells Nerd Reactor. “He loves playing Robotnik. He has so much fun with the character. And then once we teased this idea of playing two characters and getting to create an entirely new Robotnik character, a grandfather character that would help build out the Robotnik family tree, it was such a fun idea. I mean, Jim just immediately had 1000 ideas about how to go about it. It was magic, and he made it look easy. I’m so excited for audiences to see it.”

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and the previous films are filled with fun references and Easter eggs. This includes the Akira slide done by Shadow on his bike and the Chao Garden, which you can see in the trailer and promotional materials. Fowler has a warm spot for inserting surprises and treats for fans.

“We love Easter eggs,” the director said. “They come in all sizes. There are big ones, like the Chao Garden you mentioned, which I think we were really all excited about once we landed on the idea. There are so many options when it comes to the games and the things you can reference, but Chao being in Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, just being such fun characters. And it’s like, how are we going to work these into a movie? And then to realize, ‘Hey, we’re in Tokyo. We could absolutely have a little themed cafe or restaurant.’ There’s so much in the culture, so much celebration for anime and animated characters. It was totally believable that there could be a Chao Garden Cafe. And it was so much fun to design, to build as a set. The set decorators just had so much fun with the idea. And, yeah, it was so fun to reveal in the trailers that we had done that, and it was great to see the fan reaction.”

About Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Synopsis: Sonic the Hedgehog returns to the big screen this holiday season in his most thrilling adventure yet. Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails reunite against a powerful new adversary, Shadow, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched in every way, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance in hopes of stopping Shadow and protecting the planet.

Director Jeff Fowler returns along with our all-star cast including Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Adam Pally, Lee Majdoub, newcomers Alyla Browne and Krysten Ritter, with Keanu Reeves joining the franchise as Shadow the Hedgehog.

Story by Pat Casey & Josh Miller and screenplay by Pat Casey & Josh Miller and John Whittington.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 speeds into theaters on December 20, 2024.