Sonic the Hedgehog 3 proves that the series isn't even about Sonic anymore. The titular hedgehog will undoubtedly always play an important role in Sonic movies, but Sonic 3 seems to be much more interested in exploring a new character. The story of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 follows Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, who are sent by the Guardian Nations Unit (GUN) to take down Shadow the Hedgehog, who has escaped from prison. Shadow ends up defeating all three and is eventually joined by two other villains, Ivo and Gerald Robotnik, both played by Jim Carrey.
Over time, the Sonic Films have increasingly featured characters from video games. Both Tails and Knuckles are fan-favorite characters, but Shadow is by far the most popular character introduced so far. At the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 3Sonic completes an arc of his own, learning that hatred and the desire for revenge are not good things, but the film still focuses significantly more on Shadow. Therefore, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is centered much more on Shadow than on Sonic.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is more about Shadow than focused on Sonic
Shadow's story takes priority over Sonic's in Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 begins by showing glimpses of Shadow's origin and reveals that he is trapped on Prison Island in Tokyo Bay, Japan. It is established very early on that Shadow crash-landed on Earth 50 years before the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Scientists performed experiments on Shadow in a hidden GUN base while he formed a close friendship with Gerald Robotnik's granddaughter Maria. However, after a GUN agent triggered an explosion that killed Maria, Shadow was placed in a test tube, where he was trapped for 50 years.
Shadow wakes up at the beginning of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and successfully escapes from Prison Island. Sonic 3 I had to establish Shadow right at the beginning of the film, since most of the film is focused on him. About that, Sonic is only introduced after the opening scene because the film's success doesn't necessarily depend on his character's arc.. Additionally, the first scene with Sonic features a race between him, Tails, and Knuckles. The racing scene is a lot of fun and shows how close Team Sonic is now, but it's not necessarily important to the film's plot.
Sonic 3's story was designed to create more parallels between Sonic and Shadow
Sonic and Shadow follow similar arcs in Sonic The Hedgehog 3
The differences between Shadow's introductory scene and Sonic's first scene in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 prove that the film was designed to be centered on the former. In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Shadow learns that hate and revenge are not worth it.. However, he doesn't enter this arc because of Sonic. In fact, it's the opposite. Since Shadow is so central to the film, there had to be parallels between him and Sonic for it to still work as a film. Sonic film.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 follows Shadow as he seeks revenge for Maria's death. To create a parallel between the two characters, Shadow injured Tom in the middle of the movie. Tom is the human with whom Sonic feels the closest connection. Therefore, Sonic is driven by anger and hatred, just like Shadow in the second half of the film. Their similar motivations allow Sonic and Shadow to learn and grow together by the end of the film. The two follow very similar arcs in terms of Sonic 3but Shadow's story is, overall, much more interesting.
The Sonic franchise should have made a shadow movie before Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Shadow The Hedgehog Deserves His Own Movie
After the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3It's clear that Shadow needs his own movie. However, in fact, it would have been better to make a standalone Shadow the Hedgehog movie before Sonic 3. Shadow's origin is very interesting and exciting, and has enough material to be its own film. Now it's too late, as Shadow's early life on Earth was told in Sonic 3but a potential Shadow the Hedgehog origin film could have expanded on his relationships with Maria and Gerald.
A Shadow movie could have answered questions that went unanswered in Sonic the Hedgehog 3like where the Shadow came from in space.
If Shadow had been given a standalone film before facing off against Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, much less time could have been spent developing his character. Sonic the Hedgehog 3. While Sonic 3 managed to make Shadow an intriguing character, there is enough source material to delve even deeper into his origin. Plus, a Shadow movie could have answered questions that went unanswered in Sonic the Hedgehog 3like where the Shadow came from in space. General, Sonic 3 would have benefited greatly if Shadow had already been introduced to the public.
Why The Sonic The Hedgehog Movies Are Becoming Less About Sonic
Many new characters are being added to the Sonic The Hedgehog films
Shadow having his own film before the events of the third film would also have allowed Sonic 3 to focus more on Sonic. Audiences spent a lot of time with Blue Blur in the first Sonic film, but more and more characters are being introduced that divert attention from Sonic. With each new Sonic film, the cast continues to grow. Future films will have to focus on Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, the recently released Amy Rose, and Metal Sonic, as well as providing subplots for human characters like Tom and Maddie.
Future films in the series will likely spend a significant amount of time focusing on the team, the villain, or another new character. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as there are a lot of great characters from the Sonic video games, but all of these new additions hurt Sonic's development as a singular character. After the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 3it feels like Sonic is potentially becoming a less interesting character, which is a shame since he's a joy to watch.