A dream casting is coming true as Paramount’s upcoming third entry in the Sonic the Hedgehog cinematic franchise has found its main antagonist, Shadow the Hedgehog. The Perfect Lifeform is about to face off against the blue blurr and it seems that Keanu Reeves has accepted the role. The opposite of our hero, the creation of Dr. Robotnik’s grandfather is about to leave quite an imprint on the franchise after being teased in the second entry.
Reeves is a fun addition to the cast, as the film had a scene calling him a “national treasure” and it will be interesting if they might reference that sequence. He was one of the many fan casts for the role next to Darth Vader, Hayden Christensen who was at one point even rumored to be up for the role. Though, given Reeves’ previous role as John Wick, playing the gun-totting edgy hedgehog seems like perfect casting.
Shadow was first introduced in Sonic Adventure 2 and quickly became a mainstay of the franchise. He even recently appeared in the Netflix animated series Sonic Prime as a major player in that series’ multiverse-inspired story. There are a few elements that director Jeff Fowler already teased in the previous entry that set up a similar storyline to when we were first introduced to the character but it’ll be interesting to see if they have plans similar to Knuckles moving forward, who is getting his Paramount+ series.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
