‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ Stars Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba Talk Shadow’s Grief And The Chaos Of Knuckles

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 hits theaters Friday, December 20 and we couldn’t be more excited that the beloved video game character and his crew are back!
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Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba Talk Sonic the Hedgehog 3
The latest installment of the film series inspired by Sega’s beloved characters finds Keanu Reeves stepping into the shadowy role of, well, Shadow, and Idris Elba reprising his fan-favorite turn as Knuckles. GlobalGrind Sr. Content Director Janeé caught up with the stars to talk about their approach to voicing these iconic characters, diving into Sonic lore, and which superpower they’d love to steal for themselves.

Keanu Reeves has built a career on playing complex characters, and Shadow the Hedgehog is no exception. When asked what drew him to the role, Keanu’s thoughtful answer didn’t disappoint.
Source: Courtesy Paramount Pictures / SEGA of America, Inc.
“This guy who’s looking for revenge and has all of this power,” Keanu shared. “The journey through the Sonic world brings him to a better place and he gets some some understanding and peace of mind in his grief.”
Shadow may start as Sonic’s ultimate foe, but the arc of redemption makes him a standout addition to the franchise.
Source: Courtesy Paramount Pictures / SEGA of America, Inc.
Idris Elba Opens Up About Sonic The Hedgehog And Knuckles’ Fanbase That Doesn’t Miss a Beat
Idris Elba joined the Sonic universe with Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and fans quickly fell in love with his gruff but lovable Knuckles. Now, with his own spinoff show in the works, Idris reflects on how the role has changed his life.
“It’s nice to have a fanbase that come with you,” Idris said. “The Sonic fanbase is rabid—they notice everything you say and do, so I have to be very careful in ppress junkets!” he added with a laugh. “It was a real honor to go from the film to the TV show. We got to understand who Knuckles is a lot more, and that was really fun. Life is good. Obviously, I get to sit with Keanu today, which is very exciting. So yeah, life is good.”
Source: Courtesy Paramount Pictures / SEGA of America, Inc.
Idris Elba And Keanu Reeves Talk Diving Into Sonic Lore And How Much Is Too Much?
Fans of Sonic love their lore, but when it came to preparing for their roles, Keanu and Idris admitted to finding a balance between research and trusting the script.
“For the first movie, I did a deep dive into Knuckles,” Idris shared. “But there are so many different iterations—games, cartoons, fandom interpretations. You can get lost. For this movie, I stuck with what the script gave me.”
Keanu, just beginning his journey as Shadow, followed a similar path. “I did a little dive into the lore, but there’s the different versions,” he explained. “I landed where Idris did— just talking to Jeff Fowler [the director] and focusing on telling this story, while still being considerate of what’s come before.”

Idris Elba and Keanu Reeves Reveal Which Sonic Superpowers They Would They Steal
No conversation about Sonic the Hedgehog would be complete without asking which superpowers they’d want for themselves. Idris didn’t hesitate. “Teleporting,” he said immediately, clearly imagining the convenience.
Keanu, always the philosopher, opted for something with a bit more edge. “I’m curious about chaos energy,” he said with a sly smile.
Sonic The Hedgenhog 3 is in theaters now.

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