While there are plenty of upcoming movies to look forward to in the next few months, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is still one of the most exciting franchise films coming out in the next few years, building on the mᴀssive success that the first three entries saw. While plot details are still under wraps, Sonic the Hedgehog 3‘s post-credits scene hinted at what the story of Sonic 4 will be about, and introduced a couple of new characters that will undoubtedly be the main focus of the sequel.

Those characters are Amy Rose and Metal Sonic, two classic Sonic characters among the few remaining video game icons to be brought into the live-action film series. The Sonic franchise has a history of this, with the first movie teasing the introduction of Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), and the second movie giving the first glimpse of Shadow (Keanu Reeves), so there was bound to be a big character reveal after the end of Sonic 3. However, the fourth film has the opportunity to do something the previous two Sonic movies didn’t regarding these character introductions.

The Sonic Sequels Have Never Picked Up Directly After The Credits Of The Previous Film

Both Sequels Began Earlier Than What Was Shown In The Last Film

Looking back at the franchise’s post-credits scenes, they have been treated as more of an announcement of what is going to happen in the sequel, as opposed to revealing the actual plot of those sequels. For example, in the first movie, the post-credits scene shows Tails arriving through a portal, seemingly intent on helping Sonic (Ben Schwartz) out with whatever he needs, but when Sonic 2 begins, Tails hasn’t arrived yet. The scene shown off in Sonic 1 doesn’t happen until later in the movie’s first act, instead giving Sonic some time alone at the start.

A similar thing occurred with Sonic 3, which changed Shadow’s introduction quite a bit from the original Sonic 2 scene, and did wind back time a little bit as well. While the movie starts with Shadow’s escape, Sonic 2 ends with him waking up, while he takes a few moments to do so during Sonic 3‘s opening. His design changed a bit, and his containment cell was also very different, so even though this film features a much closer recreation of the previous installment’s post-credits, it still doesn’t follow up right after.

Sonic 4 Has To Begin Right After Amy Rose Saved Sonic From Metal Sonic In The Credits Scene

It Would Be The Best Place To Begin The Next Movie

While this certainly wasn’t an issue for those previous films, as it worked to enhance their respective stories, Sonic 4 would absolutely be best served by beginning right where the scene with Amy and Metal Sonic left off. The other Sonic films’ post-credits scenes were simple introductions, showing who the new character was going to be. But Sonic 3 has a full action scene, showing off what Amy Rose can do, while also including Sonic himself, also different from the previous movies.

Amy and Sonic’s meeting in Sonic 4 is going to be one of the most important parts of the movie, and using this scene to do it at the beginning would be a great way to establish this new character and get her talking to Sonic quickly. Going back to a previous Sonic moment that eventually leads into the battle in the forest would feel very weird after already seeing the fight and the lead-up to it, and getting straight into the action is probably the best path forward.

Sonic 4’s Opening Scene Can Provide More Context Around Amy Rose & Metal Sonic’s Arrivals

The Scene Could Also Be Repurposed To Help Explain Amy Or Metal

Another, slightly different way to do the opening, while keeping it in line with what was already shown, would be to begin the movie before the post-credits scene, showing Amy or Metal Sonic’s perspective on their Sonic 3 entrances. Showing how either of them knew where to find him before the big fight would just add to the scene, leading to more questions that would eventually be answered by the movie. However, opening Sonic the Hedgehog 4 with the direct aftermath of the fight would still be preferable, as explaining Amy and Metal can easily be accomplished throughout the movie.