Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was one of the biggest movies of 2024, using everything that was set up in the previous two movies to make this third installment the best film in the Sonic series by far. Sonic 3 received great reviews from both fans of the original video games and casual moviegoers alike, telling a surprisingly deep and emotional story featuring one of the Sonic franchise’s most iconic characters, Shadow the Hedgehog. However, the movie isn’t perfect, and one of the bigger flaws with the film could be exacerbated in the upcoming sequel.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 was officially confirmed soon after the mᴀssive success of the most recent movie, with a release date set for March 19, 2027, slightly extending the two-year gap between movies that has existed until now. Sonic 3‘s post-credits scene teases the central new characters that will be featured in the sequel, those being Amy Rose and Metal Sonic, some of the most important figures in the video game franchise, but unfortunately, their inclusion may repeat Sonic 3‘s biggest problem of taking most of the focus off the Blue Blur himself.

Sonic Was Overshadowed In Sonic The Hedgehog 3

Sonic Didn’t Feel Like The Most Important Character

While Sonic the Hedgehog 3‘s characters were its biggest strength, Sonic himself felt somewhat underserved by the story at hand, as there were plenty of other plot elements and characters that took the spotlight instead of the тιтular hedgehog. The most obvious culprit of this is, ironically, Shadow, who acts as the central driving force behind all the major plot points and character interactions, leading to him feeling much more like the actual main character, as opposed to the one whose name appears in the тιтle of the film.

While this wasn’t enough of an issue to make Sonic the Hedgehog 3 a bad movie by any means, as seeing Shadow’s origin unfold on the silver screen was extremely engaging and interesting, it was disappointing to see Sonic become sidelined, as he is meant to be the main character of the franchise. Even the Robotniks were given a lot of focus, leaving Sonic without much to do aside from react to the more interesting things Shadow and Eggman were getting up to.

Sonic The Hedeghog 4’s Most Exciting Teases Have Nothing To Do With Sonic

Sonic Isn’t The Most Exciting Part Of The Upcoming Movie

As the hype continues to build for Sonic the Hedgehog 4, there are a few things that people are seemingly most excited about, and importantly, none of them are Sonic himself. The fate of Eggman has been H๏τly discussed since his supposed death at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and questions about whether Jim Carrey will return for a fourth installment abound across the internet. Shadow’s inevitable return is another, and how he is going to be integrated into the franchise going forward is one of the series’ biggest questions.

With Amy and Metal Sonic’s introduction in Sonic 4 being the last big point of discussion around the franchise, there is notably very little conversation about Sonic himself. While Sonic is still the main character of the franchise, it feels like there is very little for him left to do. he has already had three movies’ worth of development, and whatever may be in store for Sonic in future movies hasn’t generated as much excitement as these other aspects of the film.

Sonic 4’s Setup Means Sonic Could Continue To Lose The Spotlight

The Sequel Will Likely Focus More On Other Characters Again

Amy Rose and Metal Sonic are obviously going to be the central focus of Sonic 4, as Shadow was for Sonic 3, meaning that it is very possible that Sonic will become overshadowed once again. Both new additions will need a decent amount of screen time to properly establish their characters, or else they will risk feeling like superfluous gimmicks that were only added for the sake of seeing more Sonic characters. Simply by their very nature, Rose and Metal Sonic’s debuts will have to take some amount of time away from Sonic, thereby leaving him with less to do.

There is also the question of the rest of the cast, including Tails and Knuckles, who, despite having their moments, didn’t get too much to do in Sonic 3, and will need to be in the next film in some form at least. Shadow’s return was teased during Sonic the Hedgehog 3‘s ending, so he will need to be reintroduced as well. With at least five other characters vying for the spotlight, Sonic is very much at risk of feeling like a side character in the franchise once again.