"Sonic the Hedgehog 3" Casts Keanu Reeves as Shadow

Keanu Reeves has been tapped to voice the popular character named Shadow in "Sonic the Hedgehog 3".

The news comes on the heels of a jam-packed CinemaCon presentation from Paramount last week when the studio debuted the first footage for the threequel. 

It included the revelation that Dr. Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey, was depressed and out of shape after the events of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2", but gets his groove back thanks to creating Shadow the Hedgehog, a character first introduced in the video games in 2001’s "Sonic Adventure 2". 

The villain is in many ways anti-Sonic, dark, and edgy while mirroring the hero’s powers.

The Sonic franchise dates back to 2020’s "Sonic the Hedgehog", which overperformed with $319 million globally, becoming a breakout hit in the video game space, a genre that had struggled at the box office. "Sonic 2" followed in 2022 and grossed $404 million globally. 

Director Jeff Fowler is behind the three installments, which voice star Ben Schwartz as Sonic opposite James Mardsen as Tom Wachowski, the human pal of Sonic.

Reeves has been in blockbusters for the last several years now, last starring in "John Wick: Chapter 4" and before that reprising his iconic role of Neo for 2021’s "The Matrix: Resurrections". Coming up, he has roles in Aziz Ansari’s "Good Fortune", in which he plays a guardian angel, and has a small part as assassin John Wick in "John Wick Presents: Ballerina", a spinoff starring Ana De Armas.