The first trailer for “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” has finally been released, revealing Keanu Reeves as Shadow, a new enemy of the blue bloke and a familiar villain from the Sega games The “Sonic” trilogy will be released on December 20

This time, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) reunites with his friends Knuckles (Idris Eva) and Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessy) to take on his strongest enemy to date: Dr Robotnik Initially, it was unclear whether Jim Carrey, who announced his retirement after “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” would return, but it was confirmed in February that he would reprise his role

The trailer features not one, but two Eggmen, and Carey also plays what appears to be Dr Robotnik's grandfather, as he played a key role in the creation of Shadow in the video game

We got a glimpse of Shadow's design in a post-credits scene in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but it was unclear how much of his backstory, the darkest in “Sonic” series history, would make it to the big screen Much to the delight of fans, the new trailer suggests that Paramount won't be giving away any punchlines Without spoiling anything, there are a few shots showing the girl from The Shadow's past and the destruction that turned him into the emo edgelord fans know him to be

After crashing a wedding, the secret government agency Gunn we were introduced to in the sequel recruits Sonic and co to capture Shadow after he escapes their facility Proving why Reeves was godlike casting, Shadow single-handedly defeats Team Sonic, deflecting Knuckles' punch with a sickening crunch (it sure sounds like something broke) and later doing the iconic “Akira” slide on a motorcycle

Fans of the franchise may also notice a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of Chao in a similar costume to Samba de Amigo, a hero from another Sega franchise who appears to be a mascot version of Chao from the Sonic Adventure games The other wears a bow tie and bears a striking resemblance to Cheese, Chao's friend from the game Cream the Rabbit Neither character is likely to appear in the film (although fans are eagerly awaiting a cameo appearance by the other female character, Sonic's longtime fan Amy, at long last), but it's a neat shout nonetheless

The third film in the franchise was first announced in February 2022, but some live-action filming faced delays due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike; in April, Paramount announced that Reeves, a popular Shadow fancast, would play the character It was revealed

“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” will be released on December 20