“He did his homework” Keanu Reeves leaves nothing to chance: he wants to perfectly interpret this cult video game character

News culture “He did his homework” Keanu Reeves leaves nothing to chance: he wants to perfectly interpret this cult video game character

Keanu Reaves arrives at Sonic

After Cyberpunk 2077, actor Keanu Reeves is not completely leaving the world of video games. Soon, he will appear in the new film adaptation of Sonic as Shadow. This also marks a new collaboration with his co-star Idris Elba, interpreter of Knuckles. The two actors had previously worked together on the game Cyberpunk 2077. Director Jeff Fowler returns to the helm for the third episode of the saga, the trailer for which was just revealed a few months ago now. The cast once again brings together stars like Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz and Idris Elba. The plot therefore revolves around the confrontation between Sonic, Tails and Knuckles against Shadow, a powerful threat emerging from a 50-year-old cryostasis. To win, our heroes will have to form an unexpected alliance with Dr. Robotnik.

A little extra for gamers, this new chapter of the Sonic adventure is largely inspired by the cult video game Sonic Adventure 2, thus offering numerous references for early fans. The film will be released in theaters on December 25. In the meantime, a Knuckles-centric miniseries will be available on Paramount+, offering a glimpse into the echidna’s life on Earth and bridging the gap between the two films.

A well-prepared role

In a recent speech, director Jeff Fowler praised the performances of Keanu Reeves, visibly very motivated to play his character brilliantly. « It’s really great to have found Keanu Reeves to voice the character and he was fantastic to work with ” said Fowler, before adding: ” He thinks the character is great, he understood what we wanted to do and he was very excited to do his version of it. Like all actors, he really wants to do things right and really cares. »

“He would give us so many different versions of the lines that he wanted to keep going. It wasn’t about coming in and reading the script into a microphone.

He really wanted to create a version of the character that was very loyal to the fans. He did research. When we first met, it was clear that he had done his homework, which was great. I can’t say enough good things about Keanu and what he brought to the character and the experience of making this film. I think people are going to really, really like his version of Shadow. »