Keanu Reeves did his Shadow the Hedgehog research for Sonic 3, and it may or may not have included taking in some foot fetish fan art

Keanu Reeves might have come across some cursed online knowledge while prepping for his role as Shadow the Hedgehog for Sonic 3, something even darker than his part as Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077.

Director Jeff Fowler praised Reeves’ commitment to the character during Sonic Revolution’s Shadow Revolution online stream (hat tip to GamesRadar). “He thinks the character is awesome and he definitely understood what we were going for and he was very excited to do his version of it,” he teased about his performance.

It’s abundantly clear that Shadow’s large presence in the threequel, coupled with Reeves’ fitting voice, might be the biggest secret weapon Sonic 3 has to come out with a decent box office haul over the incredibly busy 2024 holiday season. SEGA knows this, which is why it’s extended the actor’s role to a sizable chunk of Sonic X Shadow Generations as well.

Fowler confirmed the Keanu didn’t just show up to do quick recordings. Instead, “He would give us so many different versions of line readings and just want to keep going,” which sounds 100% like Keanu Reeves. The veteran actor has time and again been praised by his collaborators and even just random people who have come across him. Sure, we know something like Sonic 3 might be an easy paycheck for many actors, but after doing such extensive work and marketing for Cyberpunk 2077, it comes as no surprise that voicing Shadow is right up his alley.

The director kept going about all the work Reeves put into the voice performance: “He really wanted to create a very fan faithful version of the character. He did research. In our first meeting, he very clearly had gone and done his homework, which was awesome. I can’t say enough wonderful things about Keanu and what he brought to the character and the experience of making this movie. I think people are going to really, really love his version of Shadow.” The question in my mind right now is: Did he also come across cursed Shadow the Hedgehog media? How deep down the rabbit hole did he go?

I’m now hoping that someone nerdy enough asks him about troubling Sonic fan art when the press tour starts; Reeves is also a notoriously funny person to chat with, so I’m sure he’d have something interesting to say about that side of the Sonic fandom.

Ahead of the movie’s December 20, 2024, release date, it sure looks like Sonic diehards will be eating well during this final stretch of the year regardless of the final quality of the threequel, as Sonic X Shadow Generations is a certified banger.