Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Ending Explained

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 showings in the United States and elsewhere are already underway during early Thursday night screenings of the movie that'll be widely available on April 8th. As such, we're bound to see discussions online soon about the movie overall and, particularly, how this movie may set the stage for the next Sonic movie Paramount announced earlier in the year as well as the TV series starring Idris Elba as Knuckles the Echidna. And since we've already confirmed that the new movie out this weekend does indeed have a post-credits scene people should stick around for, how exactly does that and the rest of the film's conclusion set up what's coming next?

Spoiler Warning: The rest of this article contains detailed spoilers for the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

While Knuckles and Sonic are indeed at odds in the movie as all of the marketing we've seen so far would suggest, Sonic fans may have anticipated that the two superspeedy characters wouldn't stay rivals for long. They've made amends by the end of the movie with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles forming an amicable relationship with each other, one that allows the trio, Tom, and Maddie to regain a sense of normalcy.

So, the big three from the Sonic universe are doing fine, but what about their persistent antagonist Dr. Robotnik? The character played by Jim Carrey who returns from the first film is naturally defeated at the end of the second, but once cleanup of the final battle is underway, Robotnik's nowhere to be found. That certainly leaves room for Robotnik to return once more in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and elsewhere, though Carrey himself has at least cast some doubt on appearances further in the future by saying he was considering retiring from acting. Regardless of what Carrey has planned, the Sonic movie producers said they wouldn't plan to recast him.

Second Spoiler Warning: Bigger spoilers wait ahead.

Perhaps more interesting than all of that is the post-credits scene mentioned previously. After the credits partially roll, we're treated to the cleanup scene mentioned previously where something else is discovered: A hidden lab. Some commentary from the military presence there indicates that the lab remained undetected for years, and a quick pan over a tube containing a lifeform reveals that the vessel contained none other than Shadow the Hedgehog who opens his eyes menacingly to close out the film.

With all that wrapped up, it looks like Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles will be good buddies in the next film, though it's unclear currently how much of a presence the other two will have in Knuckles' live-action show. Dr. Robotnik will almost certainly make a comeback, but if what's known about Shadow outside of the film is any factor into what's coming in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, it'll take Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles' combined efforts to deal with Shadow alone, let alone Shadow and Robotnik.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 releases everywhere in theaters on April 8th.