One of the former voice actors of Shadow the Hedgehog, Jason Griffith, gave his opinion on casting Keanu Reeves for Shadow in the upcoming third Sonic the Hedgehog film. After several rumors and theories, it has finally been confirmed that Keanu Reeves will be playing Shadow the Hedgehog in the upcoming Sonic 3 movie. The cast of Sonic 3 is already filled with notable actors like Ben Schwartz and Idris Elba as Sonic and Knuckles, with Reeves as Shadow having been a widely lauded choice for Sonic's edgy rival. Before this reveal, there were a number of rumors that said Shadow would be played by one of his previous actors, Jason Griffith.
Jason Griffith is a longtime voice actor for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, having started playing the titular character in the Sonic X anime series. Throughout 2004-2010, Griffith would continue playing Sonic and Shadow in the games. While many fans were split on the casting of Griffith as both Sonic and Shadow in the past, there were as many fans who were nostalgic and praised his performances as both hedgehogs. Both of his roles would be given to other actors in the mid-2010s, with Sonic and Shadow being played by Roger Craig Smith and Kirk Thornton in the games starting with Sonic Free Riders.
While the rumors about his involvement in Sonic 3 turned out to be false, Griffith gave his take on Reeves taking up the reins as Shadow for the big screen in an interview with TMZ. Griffith first listed some of Keanu's past roles that fit Shadow's character, such as John Wick, stating that it was an «excellent» casting choice. Griffith recalls when there were rumors of Shadow the Hedgehog's potential actor, Reeves being one of them, he states that he wanted Reeves himself.
Griffith then brings up how fans speculated that he'd be the voice of Sonic's longtime rival in the movie, to which he remembers telling fans he didn't know anything about it. In regard to not being asked to reprise the role of Shadow, he notes that there was no bitterness behind the decision, stating that if he was bitter, he'd be throwing away his career just because he wasn't going to play one character.
When asked if Griffith had any tips for Reeves to keep in mind when playing Shadow, Griffith notes that at the end of the day, Shadow is an anti-hero character. Despite the character's dour demeanor and currently antagonistic role in Sonic 3, Shadow ultimately fights for the good of humanity, unlike Dr. Eggman. Griffith then says «just be yourself Keanu.» Much like a lot of fans, Griffith is very excited about seeing Shadow's debut on the big screen later this year.
Sega's Sonic X Shadow Generations remasters 2011's Sonic Generations while also adding a new campaign starring Shadow the Hedgehog.
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The producer of the upcoming Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP remaster has confirmed the game will be getting a physical version alongside a digital release. The remaster of this cult classic Xbox 360 and PS3 hack-and-slash game was originally announced for release in 2023, before it was later delayed to 2024. Dragami Games producer, Yoshimi Yasuda, has been providing fans with steady updates about the progress on Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP, including its projected release window of Summer 2024. Yasuda has now confirmed the game won't be saddled with a digital-only re-release, but a boxed copy as well.
Three brand-new Sonic the Hedgehog-themed LEGO sets have been revealed, and are slated to be released later this August. Sega and LEGO previously collaborated to produce a few Sonic the Hedgehog LEGO sets in 2022, which were quite successful. This partnership continued in 2023 when five new Sonic LEGO sets were launched, which featured Sonic, Tails, and Amy. The momentum is continuing in 2024, with Sega and LEGO collaborating again on the production of three new sets.
Despite some early bumps in the road, Sonic the Hedgehog's live action movie adaptations have been a big success. A third film is due to arrive at the tail end of 2024, and if it's anything like its predecessors, it'll not only boom at the box office, but it'll also be another entertaining all-ages flick the whole family can enjoy. We have confidence it can achieve that after watching Knuckles, a TV mini-series spin-off that's just as fun as its big screen counterparts, if not more so.
SNK confirmed that Marco Rodrigues is making a grand return to the roster of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves after his last playable appearance nearly 25 years ago. Fatal Fury's comeback was welcomed, as the series hasn't had a new entry in over two decades. This Fatal Fury revival was first announced at EVO 2022, which later got a teaser trailer at the 2023 EVO tournament. SNK then fully revealed the game as Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, along with some members of its roster and a release window of 2025. With the series having been out of the spotlight for nearly 25 years, some fighters from the game's roster will be coming back, like Marco Rodrigues.
Hades 2 developer Supergiant Games has announced that the technical test is almost over, and fans will soon be able to play the game through Early Access. Supermassive Games recently held a «technical test» earlier this month, which gave eager fans a chance to play Hades 2 early. This test period was different from Early Access, as the players were randomly selected from a pool who signed up for the chance, as opposed to being available to everyone.
A well-known gaming industry insider has claimed that Kingdom Hearts 4 will be released sometime next year. Kingdom Hearts 4 fans have been incredibly eager for more updates about the upcoming fourth mainline entry in Square Enix's long-running series. The game was first revealed during the franchise's 20th anniversary event, where a trailer showed Sora's situation after the events of Kingdom Hearts 3. This included a brand-new look for Sora, an apartment and city that resembled modern day Tokyo, and even some gameplay footage where Sora battled a giant Heartless.
Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno announced some good news for fans anticipating the Silent Hill 2 remake, stating a release date will be announced soon. There have been a number of rumors surrounding Silent Hill 2, with gamers being given possible release windows of Bloober Team's upcoming classic Konami horror game remake. Many of them have stated that Silent Hill 2 will likely be released sometime this year, which may appear to be the case if Babieno is to be believed.
GameStop has revealed an exclusive retro gaming-themed bonus for fans who wish to pre-order the upcoming Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door through its storefront: a free slip case based on the GameCube version. The upcoming release of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on Nintendo Switch is one of Nintendo's most highly anticipated releases. It is a long-awaited remake of one of the series' most beloved games, bringing the game from the GameCube to the Switch, adding a number of quality-of-life tweaks and remastered graphics.
Knuckles, Paramount Plus’ spinoff series of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, could have been a shameless IP cash-in. And the premiere isn’t far off! Following the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, we find Sonic and Miles “Tails” Prower living an idyllic life in Montana, and helping their new red echidna friend get the hang of Earth life. Without the budget for a big action spectacle, it’s mostly a kid sitcom with the Sonic gang — until it very much is not. In the subsequent five episodes, Knuckles (voiced again by Idris Elba) pairs up with dimwitted Green Hills sheriff Wade Whipple (Adam Pally) on a road trip to Nevada, where they both hope to find meaning in the world. The result is basically Tommy Boy for Sega buffs. It’s bananas.
A Mario Kart 8 Deluxe study has found the best combination of playable character and customizable vehicle build, with the most optimal option being Peach with a Teddy Buggy. The Mario Kart franchise has had a history of character tiers, where certain playable characters end up outclassing others in the game. These tiers are usually based on the most optimal character to hit the top speed, accelerate, and handle on the track. Heavyweight characters have traditionally been the most common choice for expert Mario Kart players, as seen with characters like Bowser in Super Mario Kart or Funky Kong and the Flame Runner in Mario Kart Wii.
Sony has recently confirmed that LittleBigPlanet 3's servers will not be coming back online and will be shut down «indefinitely.» With the shutdown of these servers, thousands of player-created levels from LittleBigPlanet 3 are no longer accessible. This news comes after the shutdown of the servers in January 2024, which was initially stated to be a temporary closure.
Two years after debuting in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, it seems a Hollywood leading man of sufficient talent has finally been found to portray the edgy Shadow the Hedgehog. Keanu Reeves, who needs no introduction but will get one anyway, is the star of film franchises like The Matrix and John Wick, and, of course, Cyberpunk 2077, has been confirmed to play the part.