Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will speed into theaters in 2024

By Cristina Alexander August 9, 2022

It seems the Sonic cinematic universe is sticking with the pattern of releasing a Sonic film every two years. Paramount Pictures and the official Sonic movie Twitter account announced that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be coming to theaters on December 20, 2024.

Running faster, flying higher, and punching harder. #SonicMovie3 hits theatres on December 20, 2024. pic.twitter.com/DcFGbaKUao

— Sonic the Hedgehog (@SonicMovie) August 9, 2022

The holiday release date comes as surprise for some Sonic fans, as the previous films came out earlier in their respective years. Sonic the Hedgehog came out on Valentine’s Day 2020 after a three-month delay (on account of “Ugly Sonic” needing a makeover), while Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released on April 8 this past spring.

Although Sonic 3 is coming out much later in the year than its predecessors did, its release date happens to coincide with the 23rd anniversary of the GameCube release of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (though the original game released on the Dreamcast in June 2001), which appears to be the source material for the sequel based on the appearance of Shadow the Hedgehog in the post-credits scene for Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The movie will be running in direct box office competition with James Cameron’s Avatar 3.

In the meantime, we have a Knuckles the Echidna spinoff series coming to Paramount+ in 2023, with Idris Elba reprising his voice-over role of the muscular echidna. We also have Sonic Prime coming out on Netflix later this year courtesy of WildBrain, and Shadow and Big the Cat are confirmed to appear in the series.

Game-wise, the hedgehog’s next game adventure is Sonic Frontiers, which is set to release this holiday season. More information about the game will be revealed at Gamescom‘s Opening Night Live stream on August 23.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Cristina Alexander

Gaming/Mobile Writer

Cristina Alexander has been writing since 2014, from opining about pop culture on her personal blog in college to reporting…

Gaming

Sonic Frontiers beginner’s guide: 5 tips and tricks to get started

Sonic looks surprised in a Sonic Frontiers trailer.

Grab your chili dogs and start blasting some Crush 40 because Sonic is back in action in his latest 3D adventure. When Sonic Frontiers was originally shown off, many people classified it as a Breath of the Wild-like game due to it being set in a massive open world. In some ways, that comparison is correct, but approaching this game like it's another Zelda title will only trip you up. While it doesn't reinvent any individual mechanic, Sonic Frontiers puts its own spin (dash) on many open-world tropes.

Fans of Sonic games - either 2D, 3D, or both -- will be in for some major surprises when starting Sonic Frontiers. The open world, or open-zone as Sonic Team has classified it, is easy enough to understand, but all the new mechanics and systems can be overwhelming and confusing when put together. Before you break out into a sprint across this new adventure with the blue blur, here are some important tips and tricks to get started in Sonic Frontiers.

Gaming

The best Sonic fan games

Sonic stares at an open world in Sonic Frontiers.

Sonic was once the biggest rival Mario ever faced. The blue blur certainly gave the plumber a run for his money in the 8- and 16-bit days of gaming and was arguably winning in terms of mass popularity for a brief moment in time. Sonic was the cool, hip, more "adult" type of character with a very '90s attitude that resonated with a large portion of the western gaming audience. He was even the very first video game character to ever get his own balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Needless to say, Sonic was looking to run away with the title of the face of gaming. That was until the 16-bit days ended, and the shift to 3D began.

Unlike his contemporaries, Sonic wasn't -- and arguably still isn't -- able to find a comfortable footing in the 3D space. Rather than revert back to what made his first couple of games so good, Sega kept pushing 3D titles, even after they left the console business. Sonic's reputation quickly spiraled, but his popularity remains arguably as strong as ever. Fan works involving the blue hedgehog have flooded the internet for years, with the most impressive being Sonic fan games. Most give old-school fans more and new takes on what they loved about the old 2D games, but others showed that Sonic really can work in 3D, along with all sorts of other experimental titles we'd never see Team Sonic make officially. If you miss the days when Sonic was at his top speed, here are the best Sonic fan games that can give you the thrill his official games can't.

Gaming

Sega is putting all of its chips on the table with Sonic Frontiers

Sonic grinding on a rail.

Back in May, I wrote about how Sonic Frontiers miraculously avoided the controversial Sonic Cycle by keeping updates dry between its first teaser trailer and its official announcement trailer at The Game Awards last year. Now the game is less than two months away from release, and with the reveal of four more trailers, two alternative rock songs taking us back to 2007 (Vandalize by One OK Rock and I'm Here by To Octavia's Merry Kirk-Holmes), and Super Sonic making his triumphant return at the Tokyo Game Show, Sega seems confident that it will be a big deal for the franchise. Hell, I'm feeling more confident about this game than I ever felt for some of its predecessors. And that's saying something.

In fact, Sega is so sure about Sonic Frontiers that it's pricing the game at $60 -- or in the case of the Digital Deluxe Edition, $70 -- and putting it in direct competition with God of War: Ragnarok and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in November. It's a big gamble to go all in on, but also a sore point for some Sonic fans. Most current-gen AAA games are priced between $60 and $70 due to enhanced graphics, controls, and the engines they run on, but some have balked at Frontiers’ price tag not only because it's "too expensive," but because they can't remember the last time a Sonic game cost that much.