Keanu Reeves will reportedly play Shadow in the Sonic 3 movie

When Sega dubbed 2024 the year of Shadow the Hedgehog, the company really wasn’t kidding. Now, it’s looking like beloved actor Keanu Reeves may be the voice of Sonic’s rival in the Sonic 3 movie. The casting was confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter on Monday, citing multiple anonymous sources.

Paramount is set to release Sonic 3 on Dec. 20, 2024. Fans always knew that Shadow would make an appearance in the upcoming Sonic 3 film. The post-credits teaser in Sonic 2 showed a brief look at him, but Sega has yet to formally reveal who will play him on screen.

Word of Reeves’ involvement, if true, comes as a bit of a shock, but he has been maintaining a steady pace of work lately. He continues to star as John Wick in the series of the same name. John Wick: Chapter 4 came out in 2023 and definitely leans into the actor’s knack for action, but Reeves seems down for a good time. He played Johnny Silverhand in CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 and also appeared as himself in the CGI SpongeBob movie. Fans will have to wait to see just how he will approach voicing the broody Sonic character.

The Sonic live-action casting continues to bring in the best of both the video game and the cinematic world. Hollywood stars like Ben Schwartz and Jim Carrey have brought new life to characters like Sonic and Dr. Robotnik, respectively. However, die-hard fans of the game and animated series get to relish in performances like that of Colleen O’Shaughnessey, who played Tails in Sonic 2 and previous Sonic media like the games and animated series.

The news comes just before the arrival of Knuckles, Paramount’s live-action spinoff starring the iconic echidna. Idris Elba, who plays Knuckles in Sonic 2, will reprise his role in the six-episode series later this month. So if this potential casting has got you excited for more live-action Sonic content, know that Knuckles will stream exclusively on Paramount Plus beginning April 26.

Update: We’ve added release information for the film Sonic 3 to this story.