We are just about five months away from Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s theatrical release on December 20. It’s been three months since Paramount gave fans a private premiere of footage from the film in April, but after months of waiting and theorizing about when a public trailer might drop, most fans haven’t seen a frame of the movie yet. However, there have been two merchandise leaks that have given fans a glimpse of Shadow the Hedgehog, the blue blur’s rival voiced by Keanu Reeves. They’re not very good, but they’re more than Paramount has given us. One of them is an image of a figure that will be released in toy stores closer to the movie’s launch, while another shows what he’s actually going to look like in the film…well, half of him at least. See, it’s a popcorn bucket.
Shadow debuted in the live-action films during Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s post-credits scene, but he was unconscious until the final shot, which showed his eyes open and light up as he started manipulating chaos energy. To this day, most of the public hasn’t seen him in action because Paramount hasn’t released a trailer. But an image of a popcorn bucket for the film that will be available in theaters is circulating online alongside others for movies like Wicked and Moana 2. Paramount has reportedly taken down videos showcasing the picture, so it seems to be legitimate.
The bucket appears to be a hexagon shape, with three of its sides featuring what appear to be the Sonic 3 logo, Knuckles, and Shadow. Though the hedgehog is barely visible in the shot, YouTuber Games Cage featured it in a video that was taken down. He later confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that the video was removed because it was hit with a copyright strike.
Another glimpse of Shadow’s movie look came from a photo of a talking Sonic figure for the third movie. The toy’s box includes images of five-inch figures that will go on sale, including Sonic, Tails, Robotnik, and Shadow. While you can only see his face, it is more than we’ve seen of him elsewhere.
While Paramount has been tight-lipped about Sonic the Hedgehog 3, it is a big part of Sega’s Year of Shadow celebrating the character. The other major tentpole is the upcoming Sonic X Shadow Generations game, which is a remaster of the 2011 platformer Sonic Generations with a new, Shadow-centric storyline packed in. Like the base game did for Sonic, Shadow’s section will include remixes of levels from his past appearances, including Sonic Adventure 2, his 2005 self-titled game, and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
Updated: 07/07/2024, 3:22 p.m. ET: A new leak from the Jakks Pacific toys line has begun circulating online and gives the best look at movie Shadow yet. The render appears on the side of a box of figures including Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and two of Robotnik’s machines.
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