Sonic the Hedgehog 3set itself apart from the rest of Paramount’s film franchise with its more unique and down-to-earth story. Such a narrative expanded the world of Sonic’s movies by introducing beloved characters like Shadow the Hedgehog and Gerald and Maria Robotnik. However,Sonic the Hedgehog 3distinguishes itself from previous films by limiting its story to planet Earth.
In the past, theSonic the Hedgehogmovieshave shown characters exploring multiple planets and encountering aliens such as the Owls and the Echidnas. Such adventures built up the franchise enough thatSonic the Hedgehog 3didn’t need to leave Earth to tell its story. Considering howSonic 3was still a massive box-office success, the way the film restricted its setting to Earth could even be replicated inSonic the Hedgehog 4.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Is The First Movie That Takes Place Completely On Earth
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Stays Closer To Home Than Previous Movies
The first twoSonicfilms showed characters traveling to and from alien worldslisted onSonic’s Safe Worlds Map, specifically the planet Mobius and the Mushroom Planet. However, aside from some moments on the Moon and in the Eclipse Cannon in space,Sonic the Hedgehog 3is the first movie in the franchise to take place entirely on Earth. Since the third film revolves around the Robotniks trying to conquer Earth using Shadow and the Eclipse Cannon, it makes sense for the cast not to go off-world in the story.
Where Did Shadow Come From In Sonic The Hedgehog 3?
Shadow the Hedgehog’s dark origins are depicted throughout Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but where exactly did the franchise’s popular anti-hero come from?
Much of Shadow’s story takes place on Earth inSonic the Hedgehog 3,so there’s no reason for the heroes to explore any other worlds to learn more about him or try to stop him. Likewise, Sonic has no need to escape to any of the planets depicted on the Safe Worlds Map since the villains aren’t after his power this time. There is hardly a reference to the planets beyond Earth, minus Sonic’s cave drawing of Longclaw on Mobius.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Failed To Expand The Sonic Universe
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Doesn’t Introduce Any Strange New Worlds
BecauseSonic the Hedgehog 3only takes place on Earth,this sequel does little to expand the vast and mysterious world beyond it. Instead, the movie spends more time exploring the new characters currently on Earth and their relationships with each other and the film’s heroes. Specifically, it focuses on the backstories of Shadow and Gerald Robotnik, their conflict with Sonic and his friends, and their quest to destroy humanity after Maria’s untimely death.
An Unresolved Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Story Could Set Up Shadow’s Own Movie
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 started the work of diving into Shadow’s story, but a key detail regarding how things went wrong with GUN was left out.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3does tease the existence of another alien world, quite possibly the Black Arms', due to Shadow’s arrival on Earth in a meteorite. In addition,Sonic the Hedgehog3’spost-credits sceneintroduced Amy and Metal Sonic, who could also drive Sonic and his pals to have more adventures off-world. Regardless of these cameos and Easter Eggs, this threequel puts the cosmic part of theSonicuniverse aside for a more grounded tale about Sonic and Shadow on Earth.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3’s Complete Earth Setting Could Signal The Franchise’s New Direction
Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Could Also Take Place Solely On Earth
The first twoSonicfilms spent a lot of time building up their cinematic universe. As a result,Sonic the Hedgehog 3didn’t need to do much to tell its story, and the next film could do the same. Specifically,Sonic the Hedgehog 2introduced GUN, explored the war between the Owls and Echnidas, and showedSonic acquiring the Chaos Emeralds on Earth. At that point,the franchise had done enough worldbuilding to create a faithful and satisfying adaptation of Shadow’s first storyon Earth in theSonicfranchise.
Despite their stories being limited to the Big Blue Marble, theSonicgames succeeded in building up years of lore and history linked to that singular world.
With all the characters and storylines already explored in theSonicfilms,Sonic the Hedgehog 4has enough material to adapt several adventures from the video games. It is worth noting that the majority of thefranchise’s games take place on Earth. Despite their stories being limited to the Big Blue Marble, theSonicgames succeeded in building up years of lore and history linked to that singular world.Sonic the Hedgehog 3has done the same by exploring the history of Shadow, GUN, and the Robotnik family while keeping Shadow’s cosmic origins a mystery.
Predicting What Sonic The Hedgehog 4’s Story Will Be Based On The Video Games
Based on the events and characters featured in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Paramount may adapt multiple classic video games for Sonic the Hedgehog 4.
In conclusion,Sonic the Hedgehog 3proved that the Blue Blur’s films didn’t need to feature stories outside of Earth to succeed, at least now that the previous films had built up the hero’s cinematic universe. It’s unknown if Shadow, Amy, or Metal Sonic will lead toSonic the Hedgehog 4introducing more alien planets. However, seeing how the third film presented a thrilling and emotional journey without leaving Earth, the next film could continue to present such large, exciting adventures kept within the planet’s orbit.
