After years of hypothesis, it was revealed that The Matrix, John Wick, and Cyberpunk 2077 star Keanu Reeves is voicing the broody antihero Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Reeves had been a fan-favorite to play Shadow in Paramount’s live-action adaptation because the character debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s post-credits scene, so by the point his casting was confirmed, years of anticipation got here to fruition throughout the web in a testomony each to the power of the casting, and the love followers have for a personality who has been executed soiled by Sega for almost 20 years.
Inside minutes of the casting announcement, the web set to work creating some unbelievable artwork mashing up Shadow and his actor, whether or not that be in earlier iconic roles like Neo in The Matrix and John Wick, or by slapping them right into a meme format.
The reveal introduced everybody’s consideration to a scene from the primary film, during which Sonic, performed by Parks & Recreation actor Ben Schwartz, watches the 1994 motion flick Velocity, and calls Reeves a “nationwide treasure.” Given how referential these motion pictures might be (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has a gag referencing Schwartz’s Parks & Recreation function, for instance), I might not be stunned if the blue blur makes a joke about Shadow sounding like Reeves. It’s simply the form of fanservicey, low-hanging fruit that reveals up in these sorts of flicks. And followers are already working with it.
Whereas the hype for this announcement is absolutely robust, we nonetheless haven’t seen how Shadow will look within the film. Properly, most of us haven’t, at the least. The primary footage of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 premiered at Cinemacon final week, however hasn’t been proven to most people but. And quite than simply imagining it, some of us are creating mockups with Reeves’ different roles. Plenty of the mockups are simply individuals placing a number of the wild shit Johnny Silverhand says in Cyberpunk 2077 over scenes from Sonic, however the vibes are promising, at the least.
It’s not all celebratory reactions, although. Shadow’s voice within the live-action motion pictures had been such a protracted debate that some of us have been firmly within the camp of different actors portraying him. Star Wars actor Hayden Christensen was rumored to bein talks for the function, and Batman actor Robert Pattinson had been a fan-favorite casting for nearly so long as Reeves.
Total, the announcement has sparked extra pleasure for the Sonic live-action universe, and followers are looking forward to extra massive stars to affix the forged..
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will premiere in theaters on December 20. Till then, Paramount+ is launching a present targeted on Idris Elba’s Knuckles on April 26. I’m nonetheless holding out hope Rouge the Bat reveals up in a post-credits stinger so she might be within the film. Let me dream, dammit.
