Keanu Reeves Joins “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” Movie as the Voice of Shadow: Reports

‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3' will again feature the voices of Ben Schwartz and Idris Elba

Keanu Reeves is going supersonic.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has added the actor, 59, to its voiceover cast. Reeves will voice the character Shadow, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. The news was first reported by The John Campea Show.

One of the franchise’s superheroic hedgehogs, Shadow is, like his name, a darker critter — and altogether more sinister than his counterparts, including the blue Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz), the yellow Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and the red Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba).

Elba's Knuckles character gets his own spinoff series, which premieres April 26 on Paramount+.

First introduced in Sega’s Sonic video games in 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2, the character Shadow was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik, who in 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog big-screen adaptation and its 2022 sequel is played by Jim Carrey.

Related: Jim Carrey on How He Achieved His 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2' Performance: I Gave 'So Many Levels of Cartoon'

As CinemaCon 2024 attendees in Las Vegas April 11 glimpsed at the presentation from distributor Paramount Pictures, Carrey, 62, reprises his role as the deranged professor in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. A brief teaser screened for the crowd hinted at his creation of Shadow, who crackles with supersonic energy and takes on Sonic in battle. 

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This isn't the first time Reeves has lent his gravitas to a voiceover role. He previously played the eponymous kitten in Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key's 2016 comedy Keanu, stuntman toy Duke Caboom in 2019's Toy Story 4, and Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, in 2022's DC League of Super-Pets.

Of the latter role, the Matrix star told Extra in 2022 that “to get the opportunity to voice — to play — Batman was awesome.” Playing a live-action caped crusader has “always been a dream,” he added, “so maybe down the road … when they need an older Batman."

Reprising their roles from the two preceding Sonic installments are director Jeff Fowler and live-action actors James Marsden as Tom Wachowski, Tika Sumpter as Tom's wife Maddie, and Tom Butler as Commander Walters.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 became the highest-grossing video game movie ever in North America upon its April 2022 release, besting the franchise’s previous film at the time.

In addition to Sonic, Reeves will reprise his role as John Wick in 2025’s Ana de Armas spinoff Ballerina and stars as an angel in Aziz Ansari’s comedy Good Fortune. As producer, he is bringing BRZRKR, the comic book series he co-wrote with Matt Kindt, to a big-screen adaptation and anime series. 

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is in theaters Dec. 20.

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