Sonic the Hedgehog 3 brings new villains, alliances and high-speed action to the big screen this December. The superpowered team formed in the previous film – made up of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles – alongside their adoptive parents, Tom and Maddie, face their biggest threat: Shadow, a fugitive military experiment played by Keanu Reeves. THE John Wick The actor joins an already star-studded cast, with returning actors such as Jim Carrey, Idris Elba, James Marsden and Ben Schwartz.
This time, Jim Carrey plays two characters in Sonic 3 – a reprisal for Dr. Ivo Robotnik, as well as Gerald Robotnik, the former's grandfather. Team Sonic must form a hasty alliance with their former rival to try to overthrow Shadow, while also dealing with Gerald's own plans and influence over Ivo. Comedian Ben Schwartz, who plays Sonic, is known for a variety of projects, from playing Jean-Ralphio in Parks and Recreation to F. Tony at Space Forceas well as a multitude of other animated roles such as Dewey in Duck Tales.
Screen speech interviewed Ben Schwartz to discuss showing the character's growing maturity, improvising funny Sonic lines, and the future of the franchise.
Sonic 3 has “one of the coolest sequences” of all the films in the franchise
Introductions of new characters and Sonic's growth throughout the films
Screen Speech: I love each one of these Sonic movies – they are the best family movies and have a great story. I really like this one because it has deep themes, and surprisingly it proved to be the darkest one yet. Outside of the trilogy, where is Sonic's head compared to the films before this one?
Ben Schwartz:: I think in the first one he was kind of a lonely kid looking for a friend and he found Tom. In the second one, they find their team in Tails and eventually in Knuckles, and this one has a team. I think it's him trying to be a leader, learning when to listen to his heart, when to make decisions, learning when to ask for help. It's something I'm not very good at, and Sonic wasn't very good at, when asking for help.
I think it's also about seeing him mature. You see that not only has he received a lot of information from Tom, but he is also able to share it a little and tell from his own experience how he can help other people. I think it's a big step for him, a very selfless step for someone who can play a lot.
While Shadow and Gerald are some of the biggest faces featured in this film, it opens up the world of everything from Chao to a really cool character in one of the post-credit scenes. Who is your favorite introduction to this film and what is the biggest thing you are looking forward to as the franchise continues?
Ben Schwartz: I think if we don't talk about the tag from the last movie, where we see Shadow's face, in Shibuya, the first act of this movie, I think the introduction of Shadow against Team Sonic is probably the coolest action sequence. It's one of the coolest sequences in any of our films and it's long. There's a clip online that starts where they all arrive, you see the beginning of it – it goes on, and it never stops getting bigger and cooler and stuff like that.
So you have one of – if not the – biggest set pieces near the end. But our tag is, for me and someone like you who loves video games, the tag is something that I think will make people really happy. If you know video games, you know where we can go with this, and suddenly you're like, “Oh my God, I need to see the room of this thing.”
I applauded a lot when I saw this.
Ben Schwartz: My favorite thing is watching the reactions to the trailers when they come out. Furthermore, we can surprise people in some audiences. Like, when Tails appeared in the first one, the audience went crazy; when Shadow appeared, he went crazy. I hope that when this character comes along, I want to be there when people see this person.
Playing Sonic taught Schwartz an important lesson
Learning from your character and the importance of improvisation
We literally saw Sonic grow up on screen. We saw him learn how to be part of a family and how to be a hero. In this film, he understands the value of making the right choices. What did you learn about yourself from playing Sonic and what did Sonic teach you?
Ben Schwartz: Sonic taught me to be grateful. I was really bad at taking a moment to enjoy what was happening in real time at the moment. This industry makes you worry about what your next move will be: “Oh my God, where am I going to get my next job? How am I going to do this? Where am I going to get my paycheck to support myself?”
But going through Sonic, I remember the first premiere was the first time I literally thought, I need to take a moment to enjoy what's happening right now. This is crazy. Jim Carrey is here on the same red carpet as me. We went to a screen, people went crazy over it, and it allowed me to be patient and take things in a little more instead of worrying about the future – live in the moment a little more. What I do on stage is part of improvisation, but I can't do it in my real life until this movie comes out.
Speaking of improvisation, you've mentioned in the past that you like to improve your scenes as Sonic. Was there some jam session that led to a completely unexpected favorite line of yours? Sonic 3?
Ben Schwartz: I put some Jim Carrey references in the first one. I put a John Ralphio reference in the second one. In this one there's a series of ones – I have to watch a film again, but I do so many different takes that sometimes I don't know what they're going to use.
I think Sonic the Hedgehog said one of my characters' catchphrases was bananas – say, “The worst,” during a Sonic movie. We were so close to getting “Don’t Suspect” in one of the movies, but I’m going to keep trying.
Oh, Sonic 4.
Ben Schwartz: That's it – there's always a chance.
More about Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic the Hedgehog returns to the big screen this holiday season in his most thrilling adventure yet. Sonic, Knuckles and Tails come together against a powerful new adversary, Shadow, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they've ever faced. With their abilities surpassed in every way, Team Sonic must seek an unlikely alliance in hopes of stopping Shadow and protecting the planet.
Check back soon for our others Sonic the Hedgehog 3 interviews here:
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Jim Carrey
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James Marsden and Tika Sumpter
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Colleen O'Shaughnessey and Krysten Ritter
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Jeff Fowler
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Lee Majdoub
Source: Screen Rant Plus