Sonic the Hedgehog 3 writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller have teased that the next installment in the video game film franchise will be a great, off-the-wall time for fans of the series. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released in April of this year to critical and commercial success, having earned $402 million at the box office and becoming the highest-grossing video game movie in the United States. The movie’s record-breaking achievements spell good tidings for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise’s future at Paramount, which will consist of a spinoff series about Knuckles the Echidna on Paramount+ next year and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in December 2024.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Casey and Miller promised that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 would be a wild ride for moviegoers. The duo didn’t give away any plot elements audiences can expect from the third film, but they expressed excitement for their plans going forward. Check out what Casey and Miller had to say below:
Pat Casey: Sonic 3 is looking good. That’s the one spoiler-iffic thing I’ll say: “It’s gonna be great. Look forward to it.”
Josh Miller: “Spoiler alert: It’s gonna be crazy.”
How Much Wilder Can The Sonic Franchise Get?
The Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise has already introduced many zany elements, some of which were pulled from the games and others that are unique to the movie universe. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 introduced the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald to the film universe, keeping their association with the echidnas. However, the film introduces a conflict between echidnas and the owls, the latter who stole the Master Emerald from the echidnas and hid it away on Earth, the Chaos Emeralds sealed inside. Because the lore of the Sonic the Hedgehog films incorporates Earth so heavily, there will likely be more tweaks to the game series’ story as more elements of the games are introduced in the movies.
One major change was already established at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 when a post-credits scene revealed the newly-formed G.U.N. discovering notes from Dr. Robotnik revealing a black-site facility related to Project Shadow. The introduction of Shadow the Hedgehog indicates Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will pull elements from the Sonic Adventure 2 video game. However, Sonic Adventure 2 also included prominent characters that haven’t been introduced to the film franchise yet, namely Amy Rose and Rouge the Bat. If Sonic the Hedgehog 3 were to stay faithful to the plot elements in Shadow’s debut game, Amy and Rouge would have to be introduced in the upcoming third film. Shadow’s backstory and motivations would also have to be touched on, which would necessitate the inclusion of both Space Colony ARK and the death of Maria Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
While Shadow’s existence in the film series as a fifty-year-old government project associated with Robotnik’s family is accurate to the game canon, it also clashes with the idea that Sonic is the first extraterrestrial from his world to wind up on Earth. Because of this, Shadow’s introduction in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will have to explore his backstory and explain Earth’s seemingly decades-long association with Sonic’s world. Because Casey and Miller will have to tackle not only the pre-established lore of the Sonic universe but also the new world they’ve built in the film series, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is sure to be a rollercoaster ride for film and game fans alike.
