Yesterday, Sonic the Hedgehog franchise director Jeff Fowler confirmed that work is officially underway on the upcoming fourth instalment.
Frozen star Kristen Bell recently boarded the cast as the voice of Amy Rose, and The InSneider is reporting today that Wonder Man star Sir Ben Kingsley has also joined the movie in a key role. As of now, there's no word on who he's playing or whether this would be a voiceover part.
Some fans are speculating that the legendary British actor (who also counts Gandhi, The Jungle Book, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings among his many screen credits) could be voicing Metal Sonic. Until an official announcement is made, we'll have to wait and see.
Released in 2020, Sonic the Hedgehog grossed $319 million worldwide. The movie's controversial redesign of Sonic very nearly derailed the project. However, Paramount decided to delay its release date to basically redo the character and bring him more in line with the games.
In 2022, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 grossed $405 million worldwide, with the threequel making $492 million globally in 2024. That makes this a $1 billion franchise for Paramount, so this fourth chapter will likely pull out all the stops.
At the end of 2024, Fowler revealed that Metal Sonic and Amy Rose will be the main focus of the planned fourth movie. "I mean in every bit the same way that I think in Sonic 2, when you see Shadow come up in the Cryotube, you know that he’s going to be a big deal and we’re going to make that the focus of the next story, so absolutely."
"We’re putting them in there for a reason, and we’re not doing it just to have an end credit teaser because we know fans love to see it," he added. "We’re putting it in there because we’re really excited about working with those characters."
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 will star Ben Schwartz as the title character, alongside Idris Elba as Knuckles and Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Tails, reprising her role from the games.
It's not clear whether Keanu Reeves will be back as Shadow, but the human cast will likely be rounded out by James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, and Lee Majdoub. Jim Carrey is expected to return as the villainous Dr. Robotnik, though that's yet to be confirmed, given how sporadically the actor now stars in movies.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 races into theaters on March 19, 2027.