Keanu Reeves’ John Wick ‘edginess’ led to Sonic the Hedgehog 3 role

Keanu Reeves was cast in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ because of ‘John Wick’.

The 60-year-old actor has joined the latest installment of the movie franchise, which is based on the beloved video game series, to voice Shadow and director Jeff Fowler felt the star had the right “edginess” for the character.

Jeff told SFX magazine: I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was just an obvious corollary between his performance in the ‘John Wick’ films and the vibe we’re trying to channel for Shadow.

“Because Shadow, from a tonal standpoint, is such an anti-hero he’s got a little edginess to him.

“It felt like the perfect fit for Keanu. He gave such a great performance.

“He knew what we were after and was excited about playing the character and coming into our world.”

Jim Carrey returns to the series as Robotnik, but as he previously declared he was giving up acting unless a “golden script” came his way, movie bosses took him literally.

Jeff laughed: “That’s exactly what Jim got from us.

“We printed it out with 24-caract ink and delivered it to his doorstep.”

Jeff and his team pitched a ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ that would examine the Robotnik family’s past.

He said: “We have a character who has known nothing of love his entire life, and suddenly his grandfather, who he didn’t know was still alive, shows up.

“What does that do to him?”

Jim also agreed to play his character’s granddad, Gerald Robotnik, and was heavily involved in the transformation.

Jeff continued: “Not only did he come back, he came back and did twice as much work.

“For him, to create a whole new character within the world was certainly an exciting opportunity and he just went all in.

“No detail was too small. He helped design the prosthetics and everything.

Talking about things to wrap your head around, having made three films with Jim Carrey, that’s a real mindbender.”