Sonic the Hedgehog 3 director Jeff Fowler reveals how the long-awaited debut of Keanu Reeves’ Shadow is a moment of personal triumph in his career. Fowler has directed all of Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog movies so far, bringing the blue speedster into live-action with consistent critical success.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 sees Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and his found family face their greatest threat when Shadow emerges, forcing them to forge an alliance with their former foe, Doctor Robotnik (Jim Carrey).

Currently, it is believed that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will adapt the events of 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2, covering Shadow’s debut story and first encounter with Sonic, including his tragic origin that turned him against humanity. However, much like how Sonic the Hedgehog 2 amalgamated three separate games’ plots, the third movie also seems to be taking inspiration from multiple games, as seen with Sonic, Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), and Knuckles (Idris Elba) adopting the Team Sonic moniker from 2003’s Sonic Heroes. Furthermore, the first Sonic 3 trailer has already hinted at Shadow’s solo game’s lore being incorporated.