Sonic 3 writers say that Amy Rose nearly appeared in the movie rather than just the post-credits, revealing that they have a "great plan" for her future

Warning: the following features spoilers for Sonic the Hedgehog 3...

It seems to be tradition now that the character teased in the post-credits scene of a Sonic the Hedgehog movie appears in the next film. The first instalment teased the arrival of Tails, whilst the second set up Shadow's appearance.

All eyes were therefore on the Sonic 3 post-credits scenes, which did indeed feature some exciting cameos. Saving our beloved blue blur from an army of Metal Sonics was none other than Amy Rose, with fans immediately recognizing the character thanks to her pink hair and hammer.

Of course, it's only a brief tease but fans are already excited to hopefully see more of her in the recently announced Sonic 4. However, as Sonic 3 writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller recently revealed to GamesRadar+, Amy Rose nearly played a role in the third movie, rather than just popping up in the post-credits scene.

But as Casey adds, they ultimately decided against that plan out of the fear of overcrowding the feature: "We did talk long and hard about including her in movie three actually, before ultimately, we all sort of decided that there just wasn't quite enough room to do her justice and Shadow justice. We didn’t wanna crowd the picture.

Instead they are now looking ahead to the future, with Casey teasing: "I think we have a great plan for what's gonna really make her work as a film character."

Naturally, the duo don't want to say much more, holding their cards close to their chest, but Miller's adds that they want to ensure that Amy Rose is fully fleshed out: "You don’t want her to be there as a fourth wall running around with the trio. We just want to see her be cool. She's kind of the big female character of the franchise."

Amy Rose was indeed the first female character introduced in the Sonic games, but the writers are keen to emphasize that in their movies they don't want her to simply be 'girl Sonic' – especially since many have been long awaiting this moment.

Casey jokes that he has certainly been feeling the pressure from one family member: "There’s got to be more to her than just being the girl. But we've wanted to get her in there. My little niece has been giving me hell about it. I was saying she'll get here eventually. I promise."

Interestingly, the appearance of Amy Rose seems to provide further evidence that a continuing bizarre fan theory is indeed correct. You may remember us reporting on the jumper theory, which says that whatever color Tika Sumpter's Maddie is wearing in the poster, sets up the character that will be revealed in the post-credits scene. For instance, yellow for Tails, red and black for Shadow.

Well, for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Sumpter was wearing a pink jumper in the marketing – and Amy Rose is indeed a pink character!

Laughing as GamesRadar+ asks about the theory, Miller says that they are aware of it and think it's about time they ask producer Toby Ascher about it: "We’ve seen it and it's weird because, that's outside the part of the movies we have worked on. I guess we have never asked Toby but we should… maybe it was intentional on this one but I think it was probably an accident originally."

Casey agrees, adding with a tease: "It might [be] intentional, but also it might not..."

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is out now in theaters worldwide. For more, check out out guide to Sonic 3 Easter eggs you may have missed, as well as our breakdown of the Sonic 3 ending and our Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review.