Jim Carrey had expressed his desire for possible retirement last year, making all the 90s kids feel their childhood slipping away. The famously rubber-faced comedian stated he felt like he’d “done enough” in the movie world, which can be understandable given how much he gives into his performances and the various kinds of projects he’s tried his hand at. Carrey would emphasize his point by stating, “I’m being fairly serious, yeah. If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road but I’m taking a break.”
Perhaps this means that the script for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is truly remarkable since Variety is now reporting that Carrey is set to return as Dr. Robotnik for the third entry in the video game franchise. While the buzz for the first Sonic the Hedgehog was marred by the famously mocked design of the CGI Sonic character, the studio gave him a makeover after a delay, and the movie became a great success. Sonic and Sonic 2 would earn a combined total of $870.8 million at the worldwide box office. The second film introduced the Knuckles character, who Idris Elba voices and Paramount plans to give the red speedster his own spin-off as well.
In addition to Carrey’s return as Dr. Robotnik, Ben Schwartz reprises his role as the Blue Blur, Sonic the Hedgehog, with Lee Majdoub as Agent Stone, Idris Elba voicing Knuckles, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as the voice of Tails, Tom Butler as Commander Walters, James Marsden as Tom Wachowski, and Tika Sumpter as Maddie Wachowski.
The forthcoming film also introduces new players to the sequel, including Krysten Ritter, Alyla Browne, James Wolk, Sofia Pernas, Cristo Fernández, and Jorma Taccone.
The official Sonic movie social media account has also recently dropped this teaser video announcement. The post reads, “You all thought I was gone, but I’ve just been underground. What you’ve seen from me is only a #shadow of things to come…”
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 would feature a seemingly conclusive end for Robotnik, but a post-credits scene would give a future sequel some wiggle room just in case Carrey would decide to return. The third movie plans to expand the hedgehog rollcall by introducing another popular character from the Sega video games, Shadow the Hedgehog. The film’s social media teased the look of Shadow with a peek at his design.
Jeff Fowler, who directed the first two installments in the series, will return as the director of the newest entry. Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Toru Nakahara, and Hitoshi Okuno will produce the film, which is scheduled to open in theaters on December 20, 2024.