Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is lastly right here, hitting theaters Friday, December 20, and we’re hyped to see Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and the entire squad again in motion!
Supply: Antony Jones / Getty
This time, the legendary Keanu Reeves joins the solid because the mysterious Shadow the Hedgehog, and Idris Elba returns because the fan-favorite Knuckles. Bossip caught up with these two icons to speak about moving into the world of Sonic, navigating the franchise’s deep lore, and what superpowers they’d carry into actual life.
Keanu Reeves Talks Shadow’s Darkish Facet and Redemption
When Keanu Reeves performs a personality, you already realize it’s going to be layered, and Shadow the Hedgehog isn’t any exception. We requested what drew him to the position.
“That fascinating story — this man who’s searching for revenge and has all of this energy,” Keanu stated. “The journey by the Sonic world brings him to a greater place, and he will get some understanding and peace of thoughts in his grief.”
Shadow may come for Sonic at first, but it surely’s the arc of redemption that actually makes his character stand out within the franchise.
Supply: Paramount Footage / Paramount Footage
Idris Elba Talks Knuckles’ Spin-Off and the Sonic Fandom
Idris Elba first joined the Sonic universe in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and followers fell exhausting for his tough-but-charming portrayal of Knuckles. With a spin-off collection on Paramount +, Idris mirrored on how the position—and Sonic’s passionate fandom—has impacted him.
“It’s good to have a fanbase that comes with you,” Idris stated with fun. “The Sonic fanbase is rabid—they discover every little thing you say and do, so I’ve to be very cautious in press junkets!”
He additionally shared his pleasure about Knuckles getting a deeper storyline. “It was an actual honor to go from the movie to the TV present. We bought to grasp who Knuckles is much more, and that was actually enjoyable. Life is sweet. Clearly, I get to sit down with Keanu immediately, which may be very thrilling. So yeah, life is sweet.”
Supply: Paramount Footage / Paramount Footage
How A lot Sonic Lore Is Too A lot?
Sonic followers are famously detail-oriented, and each Keanu and Idris revealed how they ready to deal with their characters.
“For the primary film, I did a deep dive into Knuckles,” Idris shared. “However there are such a lot of totally different iterations—video games, cartoons, fandom interpretations. You may get misplaced. For this film, I caught with what the script gave me.”
Keanu, nonetheless new to the Sonic franchise, admitted he began with some analysis however didn’t go too far.
“I did somewhat dive into the lore, however there are totally different variations,” he stated. “I landed the place Idris did—simply speaking to Jeff Fowler [the director] and specializing in telling this story whereas nonetheless being thoughtful of what’s come earlier than.”
Supply: Paramount Footage / Paramount Footage
Which Sonic Superpower Would Keanu Reeves And Idris Elba Need To Strive?
In fact, we needed to ask which powers from the Sonic universe they’d like to have in actual life.
Idris didn’t even have to consider it. “Teleporting,” he stated instantly.
Keanu went with one thing somewhat extra… disruptive.
“I’m interested by chaos power,” he stated with a smirk.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is in theaters now, so seize your popcorn and prepare to look at Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles take the journey to the following stage!
*This interview initially appeared on GlobalGrind
