Sonic 3 writers talk that crucial change to Maria's death scene: "I don't think we can just shoot a little girl"

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

As any Sonic the Hedgehog fan will know, the story of Shadow and Maria is legendary. In beloved game Sonic Adventure 2, the young Maria forms a close bond with Shadow whilst her grandfather Gerald Robotnik was conducting research on him.

Tragically, Maria was shot dead by a G.U.N. soldier whilst trying to help Shadow escape, leaving him completely devastated. It's an iconic moment for many reasons, also becoming a viral meme among fans and marked the start of Shadow becoming the series' leading anti-hero.

With new movie Sonic 3 bringing in Shadow, the filmmakers knew they would have to tell this tale, but there is a crucial difference. Instead of being shot by a soldier, in the film Maria is killed in an explosion during a G.U.N. assault. It's undoubtedly still tragic, but less brutal than her death in the video game.

So, why the change? As writers Josh Miller and Pat Casey tell GamesRadar+, shooting Maria dead was "never on the cards" for their PG rated family film, fearing it would be too violent for their audience.

As Miller explains: "From the moment that we even started talking about how to do it, everyone was kind of like, well, 'I don't think we can just shoot a little girl'. It's gonna be tough enough to have a whole storyline that hinges on a little girl getting killed in this PG movie, but having her get shot seemed like it was never on the cards."

Co-writer Casey does acknowledge though that there is violence in these movies, especially with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 which is the most action-packed chapter yet. However, they use tricks to tame it down, to ensure it gets past the ratings board – such as having Maria be killed in an explosion rather than gunned down.

Casey tells us: "It is funny because these movies are rated PG, but it's a pretty hard PG. The one thing that keeps us in PG territory instead of PG-13 is really that we avoid ever having real guns – everyone is using tasers, lasers, or energy weapons. Which is a great cheat that gets us past the MPAA."

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.