The two Sonic the Hedgehog movies have been surprise hits, considering the fate of most videogame adaptations. They both had ‘fresh’ ratings from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but more importantly, were box office successes, earning over $700 million combined. Therefore, a third movie is inevitable, and some fans of the games are wondering where the movies might go next.
Writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller have now dropped a hint as to where they are looking for inspiration for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 at a recent Comic-Con [be warned, this is a spoiler for Sonic the Hedgehog 2]; “The fact that Shadow is clearly going to be in the franchise moving forward, I don’t think it’s revealing anything to say we’d love to incorporate elements from Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog, his solo spinoff game.”
Shadow was introduced in a mid-credits scene at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which revealed an abandoned science facility that, 50 years ago, was the central hub for the covert operation ‘Project Shadow’. Sonic 2 shows Shadow sleeping in a glass tube prison, but before the flick cuts to black, we see the character open his red eyes –waking from his decades-long slumber.
While gamers generally like the character, his spin-off Shadow the Hedgehog was not well received. He starts off as a rival to Sonic, which is obvious given that he is a dark or shadowy version of everyone’s favourite speedy blue hedgehog. However, in the games, he ends up as an ally to Sonic, so it seems likely that the plot of Sonic 3 will follow this kind of arc.
The Sonic movies have ended up being the most successful videogame adaptations, but that isn’t saying much, given that they have generally been synonymous with disaster. This hasn’t deterred every streaming service from currently getting in on the act of adapting the likes of Halo, The Last of Us, Fallout, Mass Effect and Metal Gear Solid though.
While we wait to find out how Sonic 3, and the many TV adaptations of videogames fare, check out our guide to the best family movies.