As video game movies continue to grow in popularity, one of the most exciting projects is Sonic the Hedgehog 3's ending leaves Sonic 4 in an interesting place when it comes to upping the ante.
The film ended with Sonic franchise. It was an incredible moment and a great callback to the video games, but it does leave Sonic 4 in a tough spot.
Super Sonic & Super Shadow Teaming Up Again In Sonic 4 Will Inherently Be Less Exciting
It's Already Been Done Before
With how exciting it was to see Super Sonic and Super Shadow in Sonic 3, it will definitely make any future attempts to do the same thing less exciting simply because it has already been seen before. The first three movies have a very clear set of escalating finales: in the first movie, Sonic simply beats Robotnik by himself, he becomes Super Sonic in the second movie, and the third movie escalated by adding Super Shadow to the mix. Simply doing the same thing again will just feel like diminishing returns.
After Robotnik's Death, Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Can Make A Member Of Team Sonic The New Villain
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 will have a huge villain problem after Robotnik's death, but the movies have already introduced a solid replacement rival.
Sonic 4 Will Have To Get Creative To Make Super Sonic & Super Shadow's Next Team-Up Feel Bigger
There Needs To Be Some Escalation To Make It Work
While simply seeing Super Sonic and Super Shadow fight off robots again wouldn't be very exciting, there are some things that can be done to make the next team-up feel just as impactful as the one in Sonic 3 did. The most obvious answer would be to just add more Super characters, but that feels like it will also lead to diminishing returns in some way. Seeing Super Knuckles, Super Tails, and Super Amy alongside Sonic and Shadow would be fun, but it would probably still end up feeling like it's been done.
Knuckles, Amy, and Tails have all had Super forms in the video games, so they will likely gain access to them at some point during the franchise.
A different way to go could be introducing a higher tier of villains for the Super characters to fight, who could match or sur their powers. The Sonic vs. Shadow fight was incredible, but when they teamed up, they only fought a couple of robots and then had to move the Eclipse Cannon. Having a more drawn-out fight with a new Sonic villain who could actually stand a chance against them would be a good direction to go, but then the problem arises that it would have to sur Sonic and Shadow's fight, which would be difficult to do.
It May Be Better For Sonic 4 To Skip A Super Sonic & Super Shadow Team-Up
Save It For Another Movie Later Down The Line
With all these issues present, it might be best for the franchise to take a step back from these Super forms and focus on another way for the story to progress without relying on the Chaos Emeralds. If every movie just leads to a big fight where a couple of characters get access to Super forms to win the day, it will definitely get repetitive. Maybe telling a slightly less cataclysmic, world-ending conflict for Sonic 4 would help ground the series once again, and ready it to rebuild back to the same level of excitement seen in Sonic 3.
Sonic the Hedgehog Movie |
Worldwide Box Office |
|---|---|
Sonic the Hedgehog |
$319.7 million |
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 |
$405.4 million |
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 |
$492.1 million |
Super Sonic and Super Shadow should absolutely team up again, but maybe it would be best to save that for Sonic the Hedgehog 5. This series is going to continue for as long as people keep watching it. With Sonic 4 introducing Amy Rose and Metal Sonic, it's best to keep the story focused on them. The franchise can save the next massive, world-ending threat that would necessitate Super Sonic and Super Shadow's return for later down the line, after Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has returned the series to some sort of status quo.
