The news that the third edition of Paramount’s live-action Sonic the Hedgehog series would hit cinemas on December 20, 2024, right in the midst of the Christmas season, was delivered via the film’s official Twitter account. The tweet included a description that said, “Running faster, soaring higher, and punching harder.” The text was accompanied by a gif that depicted Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles.
Running faster, flying higher, and punching harder. #SonicMovie3 hits theatres on December 20, 2024. pic.twitter.com/DcFGbaKUao
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@SonicMovie) August 9, 2022
In February, it was revealed that Paramount has granted its approval for the production of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, as well as a spinoff series starring Idris Elba as Knuckles that would air on Paramount+. The President and Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, Brian Robbins, made the following statement:
For more than three decades, Sonic the Hedgehog‘s universe of vibrant, unique characters has generated one of the most passionate fanbases. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with SEGA, Neal Moritz, and all our creative partners as we explore additive ways to holistically scale the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise across platforms and captivate its loyal audience around the world.
The events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which was released in cinemas on April 8, 2022 and was produced by Paramount Pictures, followed the events of Sonic the Hedgehog, which was released in 2020. Both Knuckles and Tails made their first appearances in Sonic 2; in the first movie, Tails was only seen in a post-credits sequence. Knuckles made his debut in Sonic 2 with Tails. Ben Schwartz returned for the sequel to play the title character, Sonic. James Marsden played Sonic’s human companion Tom Wachowski, while Jim Carrey repeated his role as the villain Doctor Robotnik. In addition, the film included the voices of Idris Elba as Knuckles and Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Tails. Colleen O’Shaughnessey has been the voice of Tails since the anime Sonic Boom aired in 2014.
A post-credit sequence in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 introduced Shadow on the big screen, leading some fans to assume that he would have a primary antagonistic role in Sonic 3, which is the third chapter of the game. Pat Casey and Josh Miller, who are responsible for writing Sonic the Hedgehog, said in May that the next film would most likely take inspiration from the character’s controversial standalone video game, Shadow the Hedgehog, despite the fact that this has not been verified.
