Warning: This article contains spoilers for Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
The reveal of Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s mid-credits scene introduces the perfect villain to round off Sonic’s trilogy arc. Sonic 2 introduces more characters from the original video games to the film franchise. As well as Tails, who was teased in the first film, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 also introduces Knuckles, the warrior echidna, voiced by Idris Elba. ing those two in the film’s final moments is another video game character who first appeared in 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2.
Shadow the Hedgehog is the antithesis of Sonic, released from a G.U.N laboratory by Robotnik to aid him in yet another plot to take over the world. It’s a G.U.N laboratory in which Sonic 2 finds the character, the result of the so-called Shadow Project. Jim Carrey’s retirement announcement casts doubt on whether he’ll be employing Shadow’s services in the sequel, but regardless of this, Shadow will be the perfect antagonist to bring Sonic’s character arc to an end.
The Sonic movies have been notable for how they’ve reinterpreted the character of Sonic as a lost and lonely orphan, adopted by loving human parents. This blended family of human, dog, and anthropomorphized hedgehog gets bigger in Sonic 2 with the addition of Tails and Knuckles. Like Sonic in the films, Shadow the Hedgehog in the games is also lost. The result of genetic experimentation by Dr. Robotnik’s grandfather, Shadow is portrayed as a tortured and angry anti-hero, determined to avenge the death of his friend and discover more about his past. While it’s highly unlikely that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will become a kid-friendly Bourne Identity, the trajectory of Sonic’s character arc makes Shadow an ideal villain for this third film.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is all about how the titular hedgehog is still a kid who has a lot to learn about heroism and responsibility. When Tom and Maddie go on holiday to Hawaii, Sonic is left to his own devices, and riffs on the likes of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Home Alone as he relishes his independence. However, Sonic’s idea of having the house to himself is indicative of a child’s idea of “freedom” – junk food, loud music, and turning the living room into a giant bubble bath. When his nemesis returns, he must put childish things aside to stop Robotnik from obtaining the Master Emerald. By the end of the film, Sonic concedes that he still has “some growing up to do” and goes back to playing baseball and eating ice cream with his friends and family. If Sonic 2 is a metaphor for the clash between wanting more responsibility and still enjoying childhood, then Sonic the Hedgehog 3 looks to be focused on puberty and rebellion.
In meeting a character like Shadow, a cooler, colder, anti-hero Sonic could be presented with an aspirational figure that Tom and Maddie don’t approve of. Shadow is what Sonic could have become – angry and vengeful at the death of Longclaw. In Sonic 2, “Blue Justice,” Sonic’s superhero alter-ego parodies Batman, so Shadow would certainly appeal to a young, impressionable hedgehog. It would also fit with screenwriter Josh Miller’s interpretation of the characters as an adoptive family. As Sonic continues to come of age, he could find himself rejecting his new friends and his family by falling in with the wrong crowd via Shadow. Such a plot in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 would build on Knuckles’ interpretation of Sonic as a kindred spirit who’s chosen humor and levity over rage and revenge. Of course, Sonic would see that Shadow is not someone to aspire to, and would eventually reject his anti-heroic ways, thus completing his hero’s journey.
