The Hollywood Reporter saying Keanu Reeves playing Shadow the Hedgehog is backed up by multiple sources.
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Keanu Reeves playing Shadow the Hedgehog
I suppose since Keanu Reeves has played badass characters before (see: John Wick, Johnny Silverhand), he’d also end up playing as the coolest hedgehog the Sonic series has to offer.
This was said by The Hollywood Reporter, who wrote that Keanu Reeves playing Shadow the Hedgehog in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was confirmed by multiple sources. Back in Sonic 2, Shadow made a cameo in a mid-credits scene, where characters discussed “Project Shadow” as a cryopod containing the anti-heroic hedgehog was shown on screen, followed by his awakening before the screen cut to black.
According to DiscussingFilm, footage for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was shown at CinemaCon earlier this month. The footage featured Shadow being awakened by Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), before it cuts to the black hedgehog squaring off against Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), and Knuckles (Idris Elba) in a city street at night time.
DiscussingFilm also wrote that more footage showcased Shadow riding his motorcycle across some skyscrapers, before using his vehicle as a platform to bounce towards Sonic, who is flying towards his enemy. Both of them attack one another, with their respective energies (Shadow’s red energy and Sonic’s blue energy) being seen in the night sky.
Who is Shadow the Hedgehog?
Shadow entered the Sonic franchise in Sonic Adventure 2, and was described as being “the ultimate life form.” He originated from “Project Shadow,” an experiment run by Dr. Robotnik’s grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, to find a cure for his granddaughter Maria’s terminal illness. Shadow and Maria became close to one another as time passed on the space station the project was set on.
Project Shadow aimed to achieve immortality for all mankind. One of the results was Shadow, while the other was the Biolizard (the final boss of Sonic Adventure 2). Unfortunately, a military organization called GUN (Guardian Units of Nations) caught wind of the project. Deeming it too dangerous to continue, they raided the station, and Gerald told Shadow to take Maria to the escape pods and leave. Maria was shot by a soldier during their escape and before sending Shadow’s pod out, requested him to protect the world and give people the chance to be happy. After that, Shadow was ejected into space towards Earth and Maria died.
The incident left Shadow with amnesia, but with the help of another hedgehog (Amy), Shadow remembered Maria’s request to him and aided Sonic in destroying the Biolizard before seemingly perishing (don’t worry, he’s still breathing). Since then, Shadow has gone on to show up in multiple Sonic games, with the latest being the upcoming Sonic X Shadow Generations. It’s a remaster of Sonic Generations but will include new levels that reveal what the black hedgehog was up to during the game’s story. It’ll be available for consoles and PC in autumn this year.
Personality-wise, he’s cold and rather stoic, preferring to be a lone wolf (lone hedgehog?) rather than teaming up with others (though he has done so on multiple occasions). Like Sonic, he can transform into a super form called Super Shadow if he has all seven Chaos Emeralds and if he at least one Emerald, can freeze time with his Chaos Control ability. He’s also shown skill in using various firearms.
Additionally, Sega announced that 2024 is the Year of Shadow, a campaign meant to celebrate Sonic’s polar opposite and highlight his good qualities, such as having confidence in yourself, being your best, and not being afraid.
So far, a LEGO Shadow set has been released, Shadow-themed menu items have been added to the Sonic Speed Cafe, and Shadow events where you can unlock variations of the character are live in Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s even a Shadow-themed motorcycle that’s going on tour to various locations and the Sonic Symphony concert will be playing original music themed around Shadow (I hope they play “I Am All of Me” by Crush 40). Sega has teased that they’ll be showing the black hedgehog a lot more love as the year goes on.
As for the Sonic movie universe, there’s also the Knuckles spin-off TV show starring Idris Elba (why does this remind me of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?), who reprises his role from Sonic 2. It involves the red echidna training a human deputy sheriff in “the way of the echidna warrior.” All six episodes are scheduled to drop on April 26 on Paramount Plus, while Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is scheduled to release in December this year.
