Sonic 3 director says Keanu Reeves nailed the most important part of playing Shadow: "It was very clear to him what the Maria relationship meant"

Sonic 3 director Jeff Fowler says Keanu Reeves completely understood the assignment when it came to playing Shadow the Hedgehog.

Previously, Fowler had mentioned that Reeves had done "research" before taking on the role of the Ultimate Lifeform in the Sonic threequel. When we asked him about what that homework entailed, the director said he wasn't sure of the "specifics" but "definitely wouldn't question that he did a deep dive."

"His questions were really smart," Fowler tells GamesRadar+. "It was very clear to him what the Shadow and Maria relationship meant to Shadow as a character [and] to the fans as a story they loved. He just knew that we really had to nail it for the film."

For Fowler, the chance to tell a "very poignant" version of the Shadow and Maria story (in the Sonic games, it's the driving force behind Shadow's initial hatred of humanity after Maria is killed) was of utmost importance, even if it had to fit in alongside the rest of Sonic 3's action.

"Of course, with the movie being so big and having so many moving parts and characters, chances are you're never going to get as much time as you'd like to tell some of these stories," Fowler explains.

"Wanting to tell a very poignant version of that story, but do it very efficiently, was tremendously important. Alyla Brown, who plays Maria, was just so phenomenal and was just a natural. It's not easy acting with these non-existent characters [on set] and she had a great imagination and just gave us a really great performance."

Sonic 3, starring Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey, Idris Elba, James Marsden, Krysten Ritter, Tika Sumpter, and Colleen O'Shaughnessey is hitting cinemas on December 20 in the US and December 21 in the UK.

For more from the Blue Blur, check out our ranking of the best Sonic games and our interview with Jim Carrey on why Sonic is his first movie trilogy.