Earlier today, Paramount Pictures practically opened up the floodgates, showering extremely patient and steadfast Sonic fans with the long-awaited Sonic the Hedgehog 3 trailer featuring Keanu Reeves as Shadow the Hedgehog. But Sonic fandom is nothing if not quick on the uptake, especially when combing every second of footage to theory craft Sonic 3, teasing the appearance of another foe, Metal Sonic.
Interspersed between the memes and fan art from today’s trailer is a prevailing fan theory that Sonic 3 will set up Metal Sonic as the next villain in a future film or as the final villain of the Blue Blur flick. Shortly after Reeves’ Shadow collectively hands Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic their generous asses in hand-to-hand combat, Sonic floats the idea that they’ll need to enlist the help of Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik to defeat him.
Aight, theory time
This is how we get Metal Sonic pic.twitter.com/TRJGrl50Ve
— SuperSmashBro64 (@SmashBro64) August 27, 2024
A seemingly innocuous scene follows, in which Robotnik initiates a quid pro quo, leading Sonic to give him one of his super-powered quills. While the trailer glosses over the scene to get back to Shadow doing the Akira slide, fans doubled back to theory-craft the scene, leading to the creation of Metal Sonic.
Metal Sonic, who first appeared on Sonic the Hedgehog CD in 1993, is an evil robotic version of Sonic that Dr. Robotnik invented to defeat the titular hero. In the 1999 Sonic the Hedgehog anime film, Dr. Robotnik created Metal Sonic by copying his abilities, thought process, and personality into the mechanical being.
While the technical mumbo-jumbo of Metal Sonic being capable of copying whatever Sonic is thinking is a strange phenomenon in the anime, it stands within reason that Dr. Robotnik would betray Sonic—as he’s wont to do—to use his quill to make Metal Sonic in a post-credit scene teasing a fourth Sonic film.
Either that or Sonic 3 will go full Godzilla vs. Kong and recontextualize Shadow riding a motorcycle alongside Sonic as they join forces to defeat Mechagodzilla—I mean Metal Sonic. Either way, fans are pleased as a peach to see the new Sonic trailer and will pack theaters to witness this all unfold (or not) come December 20.
Along with Keanu Reeves, the cast for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 includes Jessica Jones‘ Krysten Ritter, Ted Lasso‘s Cristo Fernández, Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone, Furiosa‘s Alyla Browne, Harley Quinn‘s James Wolk, and Jane the Virgin‘s Sofia Pernas—as well as the returning Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik and Ben Schwartz as Sonic.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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