Sonic 3 director talks Shadow’s tragic backstory

Director Jeff Fowler discusses horing Shadow the Hedgehog’s story within the game universe while making Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It’s certainly something commendable, considering how much of a mixed bag the story of Shadow actually is. 

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fowler discussed using the edgy backstory surrounding Shadow.

“‘Edginess’ is maybe not the right word, but there was a new element tonally that just suddenly made the Sonic world feel a little bit more exciting, a little bit more dangerous. I think that’s exactly what Shadow has done for this film.”

He also discussed the challenges that come with blending different media to form the story worth being tied to the IP.

“That’s the challenge of these films. It’s always to take what has come before in terms of the video games and the comics and all that. How do we take the essence of what the fans love and merge it with this movie treatment that we created?

We certainly are very respectful about what fans expect to see and what they love about the character. We’re also very aware of the times and the right way to handle that kind of imagery in a family film. I think we really ended in a great place. I think fans will watch this film and really appreciate Shadow and Maria. A lot of care and a lot of love has gone into telling Shadow’s story and giving fans the best movie version of the character imaginable.”

While Shadow has become a standout character in the IP as this “anti-Sonic” figure, Shadow does have a story all to his own. This story, though, is largely scattered and not as family-friendly as the Blue Blur’s, but regardless, it seems like Fowler wants to give Shadow his story nonetheless.

Parts of his background were highlighted within the trailer, which also confirmed his voice actor would be beloved actor, Keanu Reeves. We already know that Shadow will sport the iconic motorcycle he was known for from his standalone 2005 game, which was a massive tonal shift for Sega’s normally family-friendly IP. It was full of guns, motorcycles, enemies, and tragic backstories that weren’t veiled behind a layer of lore that you had to kind of piece together. Heck, it even circles back to Maria, albeit with a seemingly different death.

The key thing that has yet to be touched, and likely won’t be part of the final film is his affinity for firearms. Now, there is a bit of hope here, considering Fowler himself was linked to the game’s CGI movie side, so we can assume there’s some sort of nod toward the 2005 spin-off.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is poised to hit theaters on December 20.