Keanu Reeves has joined the cast of Sonic The Hedgehog 3.
The actor, 59, who has been working on black comedy Outcome with Jonah Hill, 40, and daytime diva Susan Lucci, 77, will play a dark character in the highly anticipated animated adventure.
The news The Matrix star had ventured into the world of Sonic, based on the popular video game series, was first reported by The John Campea show and confirmed by TThe Hollywood Reporter through multiple sources.
The MTV Movie Award winner will provide the voice of a character named Shadow, who is new to the film franchise but appeared in the 2001 video game Sonic Adventure 2.
Shadow is an alter ego of Sonic created by Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik to deal with his depression after the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Keanu Reeves, 59, joined the cast of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (pictured in London in June 2023)
Reeves will provide the voice of Shadow, a sort of Sonic alter ego created by Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik. Shadow has the same powers as Sonic, but is darker and edgier.
According to those who saw the presentation at CinemaCon, Shadow is the opposite of Sonic. He has the same kind of powers, but he’s dark and edgy.
Paramount Pictures, the studio that produces the Sonic franchise, hinted at the character when they released a trailer for the new movie in February.
‘You all thought I was gone, but I’ve been underground. What you have seen of me is just a #shadow of what is to come…’ they wrote on social media.
The Sonic franchise has been a huge success.
The first film of 2020 became a huge hit and grossed over $319 million worldwide. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was even more successful, grossing about $405 million.
Idris Elba will reprise his role as the voice of Knuckles and James Marsden will appear again as Sonic’s friend Tom Wachowski.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is currently scheduled to hit theaters in December.
Keanu will also star in the upcoming film Good Fortune, which marks the directorial debut of Aziz Ansari. Joining Ansari in the cast are Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer.
Keanu and his girlfriend Alexandra Grant stole the show at the 2024 MOCA Gala on Saturday night.
After a delay caused by last year’s writers’ strike, filming on Good Fortune began in January 2024 and took place in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Reeves has built a devoted following throughout his nearly four-decade career, especially for his memorable portrayal of a hitman in the wildly popular John Wick franchise.
Before John Wick, he rose to prominence for his portrayal of Neo in the groundbreaking “Matrix” series, which premiered in 1999, 2003, 2002, and a recent installment in 2021.