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Sonic The Hedgehog 3: Keanu Reeves' "Fan Faithful Version" Of Shadow

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 director Jeff Fowler said Keanu Reeves "really wanted to create a very fan-faithful version of the character."

If you were one of the many people who got to see Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in a theater with a bunch of fans, then you got to see them all lose their damn minds the second Shadow was teased. It was a reaction you usually see at the end of comic book movies, and it was infectious, especially with how excited everyone was to see this character. The team behind the Sonic movies is more aware of listening to those dedicated fans than anyone else. They went back and redid all of the VFX work on the design of Sonic before the release of the first film, when it was heavily maligned. They were rewarded with an excellent box office take and an even better one for the second. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is probably the closest thing to a "sure thing" in December, all things considered, even with its prestigious competition, because it is built off of truly listening to criticisms and taking something silly very seriously. Director Jeff Fowler was recently on Day 2 of Sonic Revolution's Shadow Revolution online stream (head to 4:57:30 on their Twitch channel for more) (via Total Film). He explained that Keanu Reeves did not phone in his voice work for Shadow even a little bit.

"It's so awesome that we got Keanu Reeves to voice the character, and he was so fantastic to work with," Fowler said. "He thinks the character is awesome, and he definitely understood what we were going for, and he was very excited to do his version of it. Like all the cast, [he] really wants to get it right and really cares."

Fowler explained that Reeves wouldn't just read the lines for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 but would give them multiple takes so the team had different angles to work with. The director said, "He would give us so many different versions of line readings and just want to keep going. It was not sort of showing up and reading the script into a microphone. 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. I can't say enough wonderful things about Keanu and, what he brought to the character, and the experience of making this movie. I think people are going to really, really love his version of Shadow."

Usually, fans don't know what they want, but it seems like the fans of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and its previous films are getting what they want out of these films. We hope they will be happy with the portrayal of Shadow in the movie when it's released next month. If you're on the fence about this film, try to see it with fans. There is something genuinely infectious and wonderful about being in a packed theater with many people just loving what is happening on screen.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

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. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be released on December 20, 2024.

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