Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Drops First Tease of Keanu Reeves Playing Shadow

Several months ago, an article from The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Keanu Reeves had been cast as Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. That was back in April, but Paramount has yet to confirm if that will happen. While everyone is still waiting on news from the company, the official Sonic the Hedgehog TikTok account just dropped a major tease. The tease comes in the form of a clip from the original Sonic movie, in which Sonic watches Speed, a 1994 film in which Reeves happened to star. In that clip, Sonic praises Keanu as a “national treasure.” If you need further proof that something is up, the title of that TikTok happens to be “foreSHADOWing.” 

The TikTok can be found below. 

The use of that clip would seem to suggest that an official announcement will be made very soon. There have been indications that the trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be dropping any day now, and it would pretty much have to happen if Paramount is sticking to the movie’s December 20th release date. Hopefully we’ll get a lot more information over the next day or two! 

Shadow was teased at the very end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, though the character did not have a speaking role. Fans have spent the last two years wondering who would play the beloved character, and word of Reeves in the role has been met with a lot of excitement. Very little information about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is known at this time, but the film’s story will apparently take a number of cues from Sonic Adventure 2, a 2001 video game released for the Sega Dreamcast. That game featured the first appearance of Shadow, and Sega initially had no plans to bring the character back. However, Shadow’s popularity resulted in the character returning in several games, and across various Sonic media. 

While Paramount has been quiet about the third Sonic movie, Sega has been building hype over the last few months, with a number of promotions surrounding Shadow. Sonic x Shadow Generations will be released in October, which is a package that includes a remaster of a well-regarded Sonic game alongside a new title featuring Shadow. LEGO also has a new Shadow set on the way, which is a large build of the character’s head! 

How do you feel about Keanu Reeves potentially playing Shadow? Are you looking forward to the new movie? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!