Let's make this simple. You want to know if there are any post-credits or mid-credits scenes in the new Sonic movie. We'll tell you right here: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has both, so be sure to stick around!
Full spoilers follow from this point on!
Sonic fans have been waiting eagerly for the third installment to the blockbuster franchise since it was announced, and now the massive movie is here with a ton of new additions to the cast, as well as some wild and deep Sonic lore. Following the blue blur as he faces down Shadow (Keanu Reeves) and two Doctor Robotniks (Jim Carrey), Sonic 3 (review) is a delightful family film that’s also filled with action, heart, and an honestly surprising amount of Sonic Adventure 2 references.
So now that you've (hopefully) watched the movie — and gotten your Sonic popcorn bucket, of course — we're here to explain that absolutely wild ending, the importance behind that tragic character, what those post-credits scenes mean, and where the film leaves us heading into the recently announced Sonic 4.
After that unexpected Eggman team-up that the first act sets up, we end the film with the reveal that Gerald Robotnik, the grandfather of both Dr. Robotnik and Maria (Alyla Browne), doesn't just want to rule the world like his grandson: He wants to destroy it. That takes us to the famous Eggman game weapon the Eclipse Cannon, where Reeves’ Shadow uses his speed to super-charge the cannon with his Chaos Energy in order to destroy humanity for the death of his best friend, Maria. Sonic (Ben Schwartz) manages to get through to Shadow by connecting with him over the importance of making the right choice and remembering Maria the right way. This leads to one of the biggest moments in the movie as both Sonic and Shadow use the Chaos Emeralds to take on their Super forms, teaming up to fly through the sky. And in a very cool nod to Sonic Adventures 2, the main theme from that game, "Live and Learn" by Crush 40, begins to play as they soar up above.
While in his Super form, Shadow helps save the Earth along with Dr. Robotnik the younger, with both sacrificing themselves.
While in his Super form, Shadow helps save the Earth by staying on the Eclipse Cannon along with Dr. Robotnik the younger, with both sacrificing themselves for the good of humanity, though they do happen to carve through the moon while doing so, which feels like it will probably have ramifications. After the deaths of both Robotniks and seemingly Shadow as well, Sonic, Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey), and Knuckles (Idris Elba) have a fun family race to settle their challenge from the opening of the film and celebrate saving the world.
Well, isn't that the big question. If you're a casual Sonic fan then you might not know about the incredibly bleak tale of Maria and Shadow that we get a truncated reimagining of here. In the video games, Maria is the terminally ill granddaughter of Gerald Robotnik. He brings her to the Space Colony ARK space station in the hopes of saving or prolonging her life, and it's there that she meets Shadow. But while the pair have a sweet childlike friendship in the film, their story in the games veers much darker as Shadow feels a great guilt for not being able to help Maria find a cure for her illness. Unlike the film where Shadow is discovered as a young alien by the US government, in the games' canon he was actually created by Gerald Robotnik to cure Maria thanks to the use of secret alien DNA. The fact that he was never able to help Maria weighs heavily on Shadow and leads to his protective nature around her.
Shadow's origin has long been legendary among video game fans, because — just like in the film — Maria dies. But in the games she's intentionally killed by GUN as she frees Shadow from ARK and his pursuers. The murder of a child by a government soldier sounds far more like something out of The Last of Us than Sonic the Hedgehog, and it's still one of the franchise's most controversial and iconic moments because of it. A very important impact of all this is the way it changes Shadow, who vows to destroy all humanity alongside Gerald Robotnik. And that story has now been echoed in the third Sonic the Hedgehog film.
Sonic fans rejoice: The answer here, as noted at the top of this page, is a resounding yes. The sequel actually has both mid-credits and post-credits scenes, and of course we're going to break them down for you here.
As Sonic realizes that he's outrun his family during their celebratory race, he stops in a New York state park only to quickly sense that he's not alone. Hidden among the trees is an army of Metal Sonics ready to take down the blue blur while he's alone. This is a big moment for Sonic fans as Metal Sonic is easily one of his most iconic foes — appearing in 11 Sonic games so far — and it got a huge crowd reaction at this writer's screening. But that was far from the biggest surprise that we got in the mid-credits scene because as Sonic was facing down the multiple metal menaces, he was saved by a hooded figure with a huge hammer who revealed herself to be none other than Amy Rose, Sonic's longtime ally and biggest fan.
And that's not all. If you wait until the credits are over, you’ll see that Shadow is still alive as his feet appear and he retrieves his golden bracelet from the dusty ground, promising he lives to fight another day, likely alongside Team Sonic in the next film.
While the main film wraps things up pretty neatly, the post-credits scenes set up some serious conflict for the next movie, which will hit screens in 2027. We'll likely follow Amy Rose and Sonic as they try to work out where the Metal Sonic bots came from. In the games they're evolved versions of Robotnik's Badnik bots. But seeing as both Gerald and Ivo Robotnik seemingly died at the end of this movie, maybe we’ll wind up getting another version of Robotnik in the future.
When it comes to Shadow, it seems most probable that we'll get to see him return, probably to help Team Sonic find their fearless leader after he and Amy Rose meet on their mission. We could also see some version of a future Robotnik and future timeline where the Metal Sonics hailed from. But that's all hypothetical until the next Sonic movie appears in theaters two years from now.
What did you think of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie? Let’s discuss in the comments!
Continue reading...
Full spoilers follow from this point on!
Sonic fans have been waiting eagerly for the third installment to the blockbuster franchise since it was announced, and now the massive movie is here with a ton of new additions to the cast, as well as some wild and deep Sonic lore. Following the blue blur as he faces down Shadow (Keanu Reeves) and two Doctor Robotniks (Jim Carrey), Sonic 3 (review) is a delightful family film that’s also filled with action, heart, and an honestly surprising amount of Sonic Adventure 2 references.
So now that you've (hopefully) watched the movie — and gotten your Sonic popcorn bucket, of course — we're here to explain that absolutely wild ending, the importance behind that tragic character, what those post-credits scenes mean, and where the film leaves us heading into the recently announced Sonic 4.
Sonic 3 Ending Explained
After that unexpected Eggman team-up that the first act sets up, we end the film with the reveal that Gerald Robotnik, the grandfather of both Dr. Robotnik and Maria (Alyla Browne), doesn't just want to rule the world like his grandson: He wants to destroy it. That takes us to the famous Eggman game weapon the Eclipse Cannon, where Reeves’ Shadow uses his speed to super-charge the cannon with his Chaos Energy in order to destroy humanity for the death of his best friend, Maria. Sonic (Ben Schwartz) manages to get through to Shadow by connecting with him over the importance of making the right choice and remembering Maria the right way. This leads to one of the biggest moments in the movie as both Sonic and Shadow use the Chaos Emeralds to take on their Super forms, teaming up to fly through the sky. And in a very cool nod to Sonic Adventures 2, the main theme from that game, "Live and Learn" by Crush 40, begins to play as they soar up above.
While in his Super form, Shadow helps save the Earth along with Dr. Robotnik the younger, with both sacrificing themselves.
While in his Super form, Shadow helps save the Earth by staying on the Eclipse Cannon along with Dr. Robotnik the younger, with both sacrificing themselves for the good of humanity, though they do happen to carve through the moon while doing so, which feels like it will probably have ramifications. After the deaths of both Robotniks and seemingly Shadow as well, Sonic, Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey), and Knuckles (Idris Elba) have a fun family race to settle their challenge from the opening of the film and celebrate saving the world.
Who Is Maria in Sonic 3?
Well, isn't that the big question. If you're a casual Sonic fan then you might not know about the incredibly bleak tale of Maria and Shadow that we get a truncated reimagining of here. In the video games, Maria is the terminally ill granddaughter of Gerald Robotnik. He brings her to the Space Colony ARK space station in the hopes of saving or prolonging her life, and it's there that she meets Shadow. But while the pair have a sweet childlike friendship in the film, their story in the games veers much darker as Shadow feels a great guilt for not being able to help Maria find a cure for her illness. Unlike the film where Shadow is discovered as a young alien by the US government, in the games' canon he was actually created by Gerald Robotnik to cure Maria thanks to the use of secret alien DNA. The fact that he was never able to help Maria weighs heavily on Shadow and leads to his protective nature around her.
Shadow's origin has long been legendary among video game fans, because — just like in the film — Maria dies. But in the games she's intentionally killed by GUN as she frees Shadow from ARK and his pursuers. The murder of a child by a government soldier sounds far more like something out of The Last of Us than Sonic the Hedgehog, and it's still one of the franchise's most controversial and iconic moments because of it. A very important impact of all this is the way it changes Shadow, who vows to destroy all humanity alongside Gerald Robotnik. And that story has now been echoed in the third Sonic the Hedgehog film.
Does Sonic 3 Have a Post-Credits Scene?
Sonic fans rejoice: The answer here, as noted at the top of this page, is a resounding yes. The sequel actually has both mid-credits and post-credits scenes, and of course we're going to break them down for you here.
As Sonic realizes that he's outrun his family during their celebratory race, he stops in a New York state park only to quickly sense that he's not alone. Hidden among the trees is an army of Metal Sonics ready to take down the blue blur while he's alone. This is a big moment for Sonic fans as Metal Sonic is easily one of his most iconic foes — appearing in 11 Sonic games so far — and it got a huge crowd reaction at this writer's screening. But that was far from the biggest surprise that we got in the mid-credits scene because as Sonic was facing down the multiple metal menaces, he was saved by a hooded figure with a huge hammer who revealed herself to be none other than Amy Rose, Sonic's longtime ally and biggest fan.
And that's not all. If you wait until the credits are over, you’ll see that Shadow is still alive as his feet appear and he retrieves his golden bracelet from the dusty ground, promising he lives to fight another day, likely alongside Team Sonic in the next film.
How Sonic 3 Sets Up Sonic 4
While the main film wraps things up pretty neatly, the post-credits scenes set up some serious conflict for the next movie, which will hit screens in 2027. We'll likely follow Amy Rose and Sonic as they try to work out where the Metal Sonic bots came from. In the games they're evolved versions of Robotnik's Badnik bots. But seeing as both Gerald and Ivo Robotnik seemingly died at the end of this movie, maybe we’ll wind up getting another version of Robotnik in the future.
When it comes to Shadow, it seems most probable that we'll get to see him return, probably to help Team Sonic find their fearless leader after he and Amy Rose meet on their mission. We could also see some version of a future Robotnik and future timeline where the Metal Sonics hailed from. But that's all hypothetical until the next Sonic movie appears in theaters two years from now.
What did you think of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie? Let’s discuss in the comments!
Continue reading...
