Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Will "Take a Lot" From Sonic Adventure 2

The producer of Sonic 3 says the movie will borrow from the Dreamcast classic.

By Marc Deschamps

When Sonic the Hedgehog 3 releases in theaters later this year, it seems the movie will have a lot to enjoy for fans of the Sega Dreamcast era. It's been known since the post-credit scene for Sonic 2 that the next sequel will put a big focus on Shadow the Hedgehog, a character that first appeared in the 2001 game Sonic Adventure 2. There have been lots of hints since then that the movie will closely adapt that game, and producer Toby Ascher suggested just that in a new interview with GamesRadar+. 

"It's going to be this giant, fun, incredible movie that obviously takes a lot from Sonic Adventure 2 and some of the games that I know the core Sonic Team grew up loving," Ascher tells GamesRadar+. 

That's not that surprising, all things considered. The first two Sonic movies largely focused on adapting games from the Sega Genesis era, which were extremely light on story elements. The Dreamcast era games featured much more in terms of narrative, and it would have been difficult to adapt Shadow's storyline without sticking closely to a lot of major plot points from Sonic Adventure 2. That previously mentioned post-credit scene from Sonic 2 already hinted at Shadow's background as a genetically-engineered creation, and we know that Alyla Browne has been cast in the movie as Maria, a key character in Shadow's backstory from that game. 

Appealing to "Diehard Sonic Fans"

Ascher's comments also line up with some of the other things that we've been hearing about the next Sonic movie. Earlier this month, Knuckles actor Idris Elba told Collider that Sonic 3 "really does get deeper into the universe of Sonic," calling it "the one for all the real diehard Sonic fans." A movie that more closely adapts the story of one of the games would definitely appeal to longtime fans of the franchise. 

Obviously, things won't play out in Sonic 3 exactly as they did in Sonic Adventure 2; every adaptation is going to take certain liberties, and we know for a fact that characters that weren't in the games will be in the next film, including both Tom and Maddie Wachowski (James Marsden and Tika Sumpter). However, these comments should be pretty exciting for those that loved the Dreamcast era games. 

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Raising the Stakes

One thing that will be interesting to see in Sonic 3 is if the movie ends on a scale similar to Sonic Adventure 2. Without getting too deep into spoiler territory, the finale for that game is significantly bigger than anything we've seen in either of the Sonic movies thus far, with a gigantic threat that endangers all of Earth. A similar spectacle on the big screen would certainly fit with Ascher's "giant" and "incredible" description, but fans will have to wait until the movie's December 20th release to judge for themselves. 

Do you want Sonic 3 to closely follow Sonic Adventure 2? Are you looking forward to the movie? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

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