I’ve seen two distinct reactions to the news that Keanu Reeves is voicing Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Some fans are distraught over the idea of hearing such a recognizable voice come out of Shadow’s mouth. It was one thing when Idris Elba took on Knuckles – Elba is very famous and has a fairly distinct voice too, but he’s not on the same level of stardom as Keanu Reeves. There’s no way you’re going to be able to listen to Shadow speak without picturing Keanu Reeves. He’s bigger than Shadow, and fans of the gun-toting clone-hog just want to see their beloved edge lord come to life on screen. The other reaction I’ve seen, however, is a lot simpler: “I love Keanu Reeves, I love Shadow, this is gonna be rad.”
Reeves is one of the last real movie stars - the kind of actor that can get people to see movies just because they’re in it. The Sonic movie series has had a lot of success, but there’s no guarantee a third outing is going to perform as well as the first two. And while I mean no offense to Shadow fans, he’s not the kind of character that’s going to drive non Sonic fans to the theater. Paramount has made the very shrewd decision to attach a big star to the threequel, and I can’t imagine a better choice for Shadow than Reeves.
Take away the star power and recognition, and it’s easy to see why Reeves is a good match for Shadow. Reeves is an expert at playing the kind of tortured, broody men that Shadow is based on. John Wick will be the first character that jumps to everyone’s mind, and if Shadow is even a fraction as cool as Wick is, we have a lot to look forward to. Going back through his filmography, you’re able to find the same kind of qualities in the characters he plays in Constantine, Speed, The Neon Demon, and of course, The Matrix. The pasty hacker in all black leather that dual-wields UMPs is the archetypal ‘90s edge lord and no doubt a source of inspiration for Shadow.
It’s also a perfect fit because Reeves has become the poster child of stunt casting. It seems like anyone that wants to give their project a big boost of attention has to find a way to get Reeves involved, and it’s been that way for a long time. Cyberpunk 2077 is the most famous example of Reeves being stunt cast, but you’ll find him doing bit parts in all kinds of movies over the last decade. He played Batman in DC League of Super-Pets, Duke Caboom in Toy Story 4, and Sage in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. These may look like fun little cameos that show that Reeves doesn’t take himself too seriously, but they’re important parts of marketing a movie. If you cast Keanu Reeves to do a voice in your project, it’s because you want people to know Keanu Reeves is in your project.
And while Reeves' star hasn’t always burned so bright in Hollywood, he was getting stunt cast even when he was the newest hot young actor. One of his most criticized roles was his turn as Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but Francis Ford Coppola has said himself that Reeves was stunt cast in that film. They needed a young heartthrob to attract a younger audience. Now Sonic 3 is casting Reeves to attract an older one.
Reeves hasn’t always been the king of stunt casting - that title belonged to Nicolas Cage for decades - but Shadow seals the deal. He’s going to give the press interviews about playing a hedgehog. He’ll brood, he’ll have a John Wick-style action oner, and he’ll make Chaos Control his own.
