Sonic the Hedgehog has become an improbable hit franchise, cranking out three films and one streaming series, Knuckles, in the last four years.
The franchise stars Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, James Marsden and Tika Sumpter as his human friends, Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, and Idris Elba as the voice of Knuckles. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 builds on this unjustifiably quality cast by adding Keanu Reeves as the voice of the villainous Shadow. The Sonic 3 premiere was yesterday in London, and yes, this is an excuse to post photos of Keanu.
Keanu turned up in a seasonally appropriate scarf and corduroy jacket, looking like the hot philosophy professor on campus. Dude stars have been rocking a real “back to school” vibe all season. The additions of James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, and Idris Elba mean this red, er, blue carpet is unjustifiably hot. The Sonic franchise is doing WAY more work than it has to. Also, Krysten Ritter is in this movie, too, as if this premiere could GET any hotter.
2025 is shaping up to be a busy year for Keanu. Besides popping up in John Wick spin-off Ballerina, he’s starring in films directed by Jonah Hill and Aziz Ansari, respectively. I love Action Keanu as much as anyone, but Actual Actor Keanu remains vastly underrated, even after his popularity surged (again) in the 2010s. Keanu is a good actor! He’s just a specific kind of actor, who has sometimes been miscast. But put him in the right context, and he can deliver a great performance (see also: Something’s Gotta Give, Always Be My Maybe, Swedish Dicks, Knock Knock, Thumbsucker). While I am skeptical of Hill and Ansari as filmmakers (for different reasons), I very much look forward to a couple of normal-guy Keanu performances in 2025. It’s the year of Keanu!