'Sonic The Hedgehog 3' Director Jeff Fowler and Actors Lee Majdoub and Colleen O'Shaugnessey Set the Pace for Speedy Success
The Sonic movie franchise has become one of the biggest anomalies in the industry, in the best possible way.
After that infamous original trailer (that was infamous for all the wrong reasons) debuted back in 2019, nobody thought we’d end up with a full-on franchise, beloved by droves of fans and making more money at the box office with each subsequent release. The latest of which being ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 3’, which is not only the most box-office-lucrative film in the trilogy, but is also the most critically successful. It feels like everyone is on the blue blur’s side for the first time in a long time.
Jeff Fowler, director of each of the three Sonic movies, got his start with the franchise well before he began work on any of these films all the way back in 2006 with the Shadow the Hedgehog game.
“I started my career in entertainment as a character animator… this was like literally one of my first jobs in the industry,” he said. “For Shadow, it was a combination of layout, which is kind of like camera work and setting up the scene, and then I also did some animation, and got to actually animate Shadow. It’s so wild to me that, over twenty years later, here I am getting to introduce the character to the world on the big screen.”
It’s clear that, having been a fan first, Fowler’s understanding of the franchise and characters within it has spurred the success of his incarnation of their stories. Shadow’s introduction specifically traces back to the second film’s post-credits scene, and since then, fans have clamored for his role in the third film’s spotlight. Bringing in Shadow, in this case, also meant bringing in longtime fancast and worldwide megastar Keanu Reeves. Not only was Reeves familiar with the edgy hedgehog before taking on the role, but getting the voice right was extremely important to him. To him, too, the fans came first.
“He was, just maybe on a simpler level familiar with Shadow. But then, once he came onto the project and we sort of had our first conversations, it was great. Because it was very clear that he had done a lot of homework, and had done some research,” said Fowler. “He asked a lot of questions that proved he wanted to get it right, and he knew how important to the fans it would be for him to get it right.”
Get it right, he did. Hopefully now, in the wake of the film’s success and the positive reception to his performance, Reeves will return as Shadow once more. Though only time will tell, there could be no sign more positive than the sweeping reception he’s received since debuting as the character in December.
Click below to check out the full interviews with O’Shaughnessey, Majdoub and Fowler. Or continue scrolling for the remainder of the article.
On the topic of time, Fowler also commented on the film’s scrapped time travel plot elements, which has more than piqued fans’ interests online after being recently revealed in a piece of concept art. “That’s like a whole other version of the story,” he said. “Movies are hard, especially in the early stages… in the early days, you really just want to throw out big ideas and see where they go. At the end of the day, you just want to find the best version of the story and the best version of the movie.” As exciting as the prospect of time travel in the Sonic franchise is, and as much as fans have speculated on it, everyone can be rest assured that, at the end of the day, we’re living in the best timeline. Jeff Fowler delivered “the best movie.”
Returning to lend iconic voices and comedic presences are the uber-talented Lee Majdoub and Colleen O’Shaugnessey, who play Agent Stone and Tails in the series, respectively. Beginning with the former, Madjoub’s Agent Stone has garnered a fanbase all his own, enjoying widespread love and affection from an audience who have demanded more of his latte-loving sidekick since his debut in the first film.
The reaction to his consistently increasing role has been unprecedented, and to Madjoub, it’s a truly special phenomenon. “It’s been incredible,” he said. “I was blown away by the fan response after the first film, and it just keeps growing, and growing… I get these lovely messages from people that are saying “we wish you the best in your career, and we want to see you work on not just the Sonic franchise, but so much more. It’s wonderful and overwhelming in the best of ways.”
Part of what makes Majdoub so standout in these movies is his ability to stand toe-to-toe with Jim Carrey, often trading comedic blows and taking advantage of their slapstick villainous natures together. According to Majdoub, Carrey was having as much fun with it as the fans were, and he too wanted Stone to stick around after their dynamic worked so well the first time around. “I think because he and I clicked as people, offered great ideas, I think our relationship as people grew, and then the Stone and Robotnik relationship grew from that. Jim just ended up wanting to have more Stone in there. He wanted to work with me more… It's incredible to think that someone I admired growing up, admire now, was a hero of mine, was a reason why I became an actor, just be so open and welcoming and want to work with me.”
Much like Reeves, Majdoub was no stranger to the Sonic games coming into the role. Majdoub described growing up on the franchise, and admitted something about his experience with the older games that many who play them undoubtedly share. “What I tell a lot of people is, I love the games… I’m just not very good at them.” Majdoub described Sonic Adventure 2 as “one of the hardest games” he’d ever played. He continued with a chuckle, “Thank God Frontiers came out, because I can actually play that one.”
With the longtime voice of Tails, Colleen O’Shaugnessey - Sonic 3 marked her 10 year anniversary playing the character. “I can’t believe it.” she chuckles. First of all, I can't believe it's been 10 years, but to get to voice a character that long is truly phenomenal. And I feel so lucky. I'm honored that they trust me with him. I really am.”
O’Shaugnessey has become a main point of recognition for the two-tailed sidekick, embodying the character across a wide variety of platforms over the last decade… and if it’s up to her, she isn’t done yet. “I will [voice Tails] as long as my voice holds out and as long as they’ll have me, for sure.”
On the idea of a potential Tails spinoff series, a-la the Knuckles show, she remarked, “That would be amazing. I would not sneeze at that.”
When it comes to Sonic 3 specifically, O’Shaugnessey commended the “wonderful writers and director for “keeping [Tails] important.” From a story perspective, it’s about a “one thing at a time” approach, she said, wherein O’Shaugnessey can gauge just how much, or how little, the character that has become hers is needed. If fans had it their way, that aforementioned Tails spinoff would certainly be next on deck.
O’Shaugnessey, along with Majdoub and Fowler, have brought invaluable, unique qualities to what is quickly becoming one of the most popular choices at the cinema on a regular basis. As long as these folks are around, silver screen Sonic will be a box office behemoth, taking families and young fans on unforgettable, moving, bombastic adventures.