By Patricia Rodriguez
London, Dec 18 (EFE).- Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, who voices the villain Shadow in “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” highlighted the “energy” and “good intentions” of the saga during the film’s premiere in London.
“Seeing the films, I really enjoyed them. I think the performances, the messages, the entertainment, the energy of the films… There are kind of good intentions,” Reeves said in an interview with EFE.
The movie, directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington, features an anti-hero named Shadow, a vengeful and mysterious hedgehog played by Reeves, who is the antithesis of the main character, Sonic.
Reeves confessed that he wanted to be part of the project, based on the popular Sega video game series, as soon as he saw the first two films.
He said he was “honored” to be invited to join a project with a cast of “very talented artists.”
The third installment of the Sonic saga, set in Tokyo and London, finds Sonic, along with his friends Tails and Knuckles, enjoying a peaceful life as part of Tom and Maddie Wachowski’s family (played by James Marsden and Tika Sumpter).
However, their life is disrupted when they are called upon for a high-stakes mission. The trio must face the threat of Shadow.
Shadow’s revenge stems from the death of Maria, the granddaughter of Professor Robotnik (played by Jim Carrey), the only person who ever loved him.
To embody Shadow’s depth and complexity, Reeves focused on understanding the character’s emotional turmoil. “I wanted to, kind of, connect (with) his feeling and his emotion,” he said, explaining how Shadow’s early lack of affection had shaped his resentment and thirst for vengeance.
His co-star, British actor Idris Elba, plays Knuckles, a character he is familiar with from the previous films.
“He was the big bad, the big fighter… And now he’s part of the family, part of the team,” Elba said.
For Elba, the Sonic saga has managed to appeal to a diverse audience thanks to a combination of “production value, fantastic actors” and a storyline based on a range of emotions, including love, friendship, and kindness.
“Films that have that scale and that sort of spectrum of emotions and journeys are more attractive now,” Elba added. EFE
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