Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is one of the films Paramount is showcasing at Cinemacon in Las Vegas right now, and that presentation included a whole trailer of the blue blur fighting his angsty rival Shadow. Unfortunately, as of this writing, none of that footage is available to the public. But we do have a description of what went down.
According to DiscussingFilm, the footage shown at the event featured Jim Carrey returning as maniacal scientist Dr. Robotnik/Eggman, who has apparently gained weight since we last saw him in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. There’s apparently a line about him taking in a lot of “carbohydrates.” While I know Eggman is a bigger guy in the games, I hope this isn’t just going to be a gateway into fatphobic jokes for the whole movie. Also, apparently, in the trailer were scenes of Sonic fighting Shadow alongside his friends Knuckles and Tails, as well as a different scene of the hedgehogs fighting in the sky on Shadow’s motorcycle.
If Shadow is riding a bike in the movie, that probably means Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is bringing in elements from his stories across multiple games. The antihero debuted in Sonic Adventure 2, and based on the early casting news, it seems his backstory from the game will be touched on in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. But he didn’t start using vehicles until his self-titled game from 2005. This is in line with the previous movies, which have never been a 1:1 recreation of the games.
Even after showing the footage, Paramount didn’t announce who is voicing Shadow in the film at Cinemacon. Rumors have been floating around that Star Wars actor Hayden Christensen may be portraying the edgiest hedgehog, but those have not been confirmed. Now if they wanted to be real cool, they would at the very least put it online so those of us who live anywhere else can see it. Come on, y’all. It’s the Year of Shadow, and gatekeeping footage of the live-action Ultimate Lifeform is not very festive.
