Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024): Cast, Plot, Ending and Where to Watch

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024), directed by Jeff Fowler, is about a new rival for Sonic: Shadow, an alien hedgehog with powers the heroes have never faced. The story opens in 1974, when Shadow is captured by the military agency G.U.N. and studied by Professor Gerald Robotnik. Shadow becomes close to Gerald's granddaughter Maria, but a failed escape ends with her death and with Shadow put into suspended animation.

In the present day Shadow is freed from a prison facility. G.U.N. Director Rockwell recruits Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, along with Tom and Maddie, to catch him in Tokyo. Shadow gets away, and the chase grows well beyond a single city.

If you are coming to the series fresh, the earlier films set the table. Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) shows Sonic hiding near the small town of Green Hills, Montana, before he finds a home with Tom and Maddie, and the Sonic 2 movie adds Tails and Knuckles to the team. The Sonic movies in order guide has the full run.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 tells a story that stretches from a lab in 1974 to a weapon in orbit above Earth, and it closes with Ivo Robotnik and Shadow paying for the planet's safety with their own lives.

Once Shadow slips away from the team in Tokyo, Commander Walters fills them in on where he came from. Before long, drones sent by Ivo Robotnik strike Walters down, though he manages to give Sonic a keycard first. With Rockwell now working against them, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles join forces with Agent Stone, who has been Ivo's assistant, and follow the drones to a disused G.U.N. base.

Inside, Ivo comes face to face with his grandfather Gerald, the man who released Shadow. Gerald intends to fire the Eclipse Cannon, an orbital weapon, at G.U.N. headquarters in London, and Ivo chooses to stand beside him. Because the cannon cannot fire without two keycards, Sonic's team and their parents plan a heist to take the second. In the middle of it, Shadow severely injures Tom.

Furious, Sonic draws on the Master Emerald and transforms into Super Sonic. Shadow answers by becoming Super Shadow, and the two clash. Partway through, Sonic sees that his thirst for revenge is taking him over, and the rivals decide to shut the cannon down together.

Inside the reactor core, Gerald admits that he means to wipe out the Earth in Maria's name, and he is killed there. The beam gets redirected and cuts a slice out of the Moon. As the core fails, Ivo and Shadow give their lives to carry it away from the planet. Sonic lives, and he makes peace with the people he loves.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) was released in US theaters on December 20, 2024, according to Variety. The UK and Australian releases followed on December 26, 2024, according to Box Office Mojo.

That put the film in holiday windows in all three markets, a few days apart, with UK and Australian audiences waiting until Boxing Day. It carries a PG certification in the US, UK and Australia. For the other films in the run, see the Sonic movies hub and the Sonic timeline.

The ending of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) has Shadow and Ivo Robotnik give themselves up to push the failing Eclipse Cannon core away from Earth, and the film leaves the future of both characters open for later movies.

What is the ending really about? In my opinion, it is about what anger does to people and how it can be talked down. After Shadow badly wounds Tom, Sonic uses the Master Emerald to become Super Sonic and fights Shadow, who answers by becoming Super Shadow. Sonic then realizes revenge is consuming him, and the two agree to stop the cannon together. Gerald, meanwhile, reveals that he wants to destroy the Earth to avenge Maria, and he dies in the reactor core. It could be argued that Gerald shows Sonic where unchecked revenge leads, with Shadow as a mirror for Sonic's own anger.

That is a darker emotional turn than the earlier films took. In Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Sonic's loneliness made him lose control of his speed and knock out power across a region, which is a lonely kid's mistake rather than a rage. In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Master Emerald is something Knuckles hunts and Robotnik wants, whereas here Sonic himself reaches for it in grief and fury.

The beam is diverted and cuts into the Moon, and the sacrifice that follows does two jobs at once. In my opinion, it gives Ivo a moment of bravery after two films of scheming (Jim Carrey's best chance to play a Robotnik who cares about someone), and it gives Shadow a way to answer for Gerald's plan. Because the film does not say outright what happens to either of them, I would treat their return as an open question rather than a promise.

Sonic survives and makes up with his friends and family, which is where the series' warm center sits. Paramount has set Sonic 4 for March 19, 2027, according to TheWrap.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was filmed in London, England, where principal photography was reported to start on August 31, 2023, according to Screen Global Production.

The story still travels, with Tokyo as the setting for the first chase and a cannon aimed at London in the finale, and the camera work was based in England.

The best trivia about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) involves its casting, its first trailer and its price tag.

• Jim Carrey plays both Ivo Robotnik and his grandfather Gerald Robotnik.
• Keanu Reeves' casting as Shadow was first reported in April 2024, and Paramount declined to comment at the time.
• Paramount released the first trailer, which introduced Shadow, on August 28, 2024.
• The production budget is listed at $122 million, according to The Numbers.
• It is also the highest grossing of the three main films, with $492 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
• Producers on the film include Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Toru Nakahara and Hitoshi Okuno.

If you want the video game side of the series, the Sonic games page is the place to start, and the Sonic 4 trailer page covers what comes next.