Sonic 3 is hitting the big screen in less than a month, as everyone's favorite hedgehog speedster faces his biggest challenge to date. Here we tell you everything you need to know about the highly anticipated threequel, from release date to all-star cast.
Sonic is making his long-awaited return this Christmas, finding an unlikely ally in Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik in order to face his most terrifying enemy, Shadow the Hedgehog. The new character is voiced by the legendary Keanu Reeves, and, after seeing the latest Sonic 3 trailer and knowing he has done extensive research for the part, we can tell already it is going to be iconic.
Of course, Sonic 3 is one of the most anticipated upcoming video game movies, following the success of the previous two films, 2020's Sonic The Hedgehog and 2022's Sonic The Hedgehog 2.
Ahead of the threequel's release, we have created the ultimate guide to one of 2024's biggest new movies. We've got the final Sonic 3 release date, the full list of the Sonic 3 cast, a breakdown of the Sonic 3 trailers, and even some exclusive details from the creators about what to expect. Time to gear up for another adventure on the big screen.
Oh, and if you're in the mood for more Sonic away from the movie adaptations, you can also check out our guides to the best Sonic games of all time too.
Sonic 3 release date
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be released just in time for Christmas. The United States will get it first on December 20, before it's released in the United Kingdom on December 21.
The movie has been in the making for a while after being first announced in February 2022. Delays were caused by the writers' and actors' strikes in 2023, which meant filming with live-action stars could only begin in November 2023. Production wrapped in March 2024.
Sonic 3 plot
Sonic 3 will be inspired by the video game Sonic Adventure 2 and picks up with our ragtag group as they face a new enemy. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles face a powerful adversary in Shadow the Hedgehog. Out of their depth, they decide to make an unexpected alliance with Dr. Robotnik in order to save the planet.
Speaking to 12DOVE earlier in 2024, producer Toby Ascher told us that he thinks the movie is "probably the most exciting thing that we’ve done in the franchise." He continued: "It’s going to be this giant, fun, incredible movie that obviously takes a lot from Sonic Adventure 2 and some of the games that I know the core Sonic Team grew up loving."
Sonic 3 cast
The Sonic 3 cast is looking pretty stacked as many of the major stars return for the threequel. Alongside the major names too are some newcomers, including Jessica Jones star Krysten Ritter and John Wick's Keanu Reeves.
The latter has apparently been doing a lot of research to get in character as Shadow, with the director Jeff Fowler revealing "he really wants to get it right." In a recent interview, Fowler said: "He really wanted to create a very fan-faithful version of the character. He did research. In our first meeting, he very clearly had gone and done his homework, which was awesome."
Check out the full voice and live-action cast list below.
- Ben Schwartz as Sonic the Hedgehog
- Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Tails
- Idris Elba as Knuckles
- Keanu Reeves as Shadow the Hedgehog
- Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik (and Gerald Robotnik)
- James Marsden as Tom Wachowski
- Tika Sumpter as Maddie Wachowski
- Krysten Ritter as Director Rockwell
- Natasha Rothwell as Rachel
- Lee Majdoub as Agent Stone
- Alyla Browne as Maria
- Shemar Moore as Randall Handel
- Adam Pally as Wade Whipple
Right now, we still don't know who a few stars will be playing. Ted Lasso actor Cristo Fernández, Mad Men's James Wolk, The Lonely Island's Jorma Taccone, and The Brave's Sofia Pernas have all been cast in undisclosed roles.
Sonic 3 trailer
You can watch the latest Sonic the Hedgehog 3 trailer above, where we can see Sonic and his pals enjoying a peaceful lunch at the Chao Garden when Tails is mistaken for Detective Pikachu, and some killer robots turn up.
We also get our best look yet at Shadow who looks like a terrifying new foe.
This isn't the only trailer we've had, as an earlier trailer showed us Shadow for the first time.
"He's too powerful," Sonic says at one point before the team decides they need help from none other than Dr. Robotnik. "If I can't rule the world, I might as well save it," Robotnik says as he joins the gang in their fight to beat Shadow. Oh, and we also see Robotnik reunite with his grandfather Gerald Robotnik in the final few moments too.
We also had a new clip released for Halloween also gave us another look at Shadow as well.
For more, check out all of the 2024 movie release dates still to come.
