“I’m a big fan of his": Idris Elba, who voices Knuckles the Echidna, reacts to Keanu Reeves joining Sonic the Hedgehog universe

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is arriving on the big screen on December 20 this year and Idris Elba will give his voice to Knuckles the Echidna. Meanwhile, on April 15, Deadline confirmed that Keanu Reeves has been included among the lead cast members.

Idris Elba has now expressed his happiness regarding the casting of the John Wick star while speaking to IGN on Monday, April 22.

"I'm a big fan of his. I've heard that he's a fan of mine, and we are destined to make something together. So, here we go," he said.

They chose Reeves to voice Sonic the Hedgehog, a character with red stripes created by the government's secret program, Project Shadow. Like the rest of the installments, Ben Schwartz is also returning to voice the lead.

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Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba have collaborated in the past: Casting and character details explained

The Matrix star's addition to Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has already led to more anticipation among the public. It should be noted that this is not the first project where he will work with Idris, as they previously voiced characters in the video game Cyberpunk 2077, released in 2020.

Keanu Reeves played Johnny Silverhand, and Idris Elba voiced Solom Reed. As both the actors are joining hands for another time, there is a possibility that the Constantine star will make a special appearance in the Paramount + series Knuckles.

Besides the upcoming sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Elba is also busy with the show, which has already locked a release date of April 26, 2024. It will serve as a prequel to the new film and focus only on Elba's character, covering the timeline where he would train Wade to make him an Echidna warrior.

Paramount revealed footage from the third film at CinemaCon, confirming the news of Keanu's casting. As mentioned earlier, Reeves would voice for Shadow the Hedgehog, first seen in the video game Sonic Adventure 2. The character made a cameo in the mid-credits scene of the second film.

In another interview with GamesRadar+ three days ago, Idris Elba said he had yet to learn about the storyline for the third installment.

"I'm not allowed to say what I know about Sonic 3. Everything's in increments right? So if that [hand in the middle] was Sonic 1, that [hand higher up] is Sonic 2 then Sonic 3 [puts hand even higher]. Ding ding ding ding," he further stated.

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Idris Elba says that the upcoming film is going to satisfy the fans of the franchise

While the Luther star has not disclosed anything about the plot, he told Collider that the third installment would be "super exciting." He said that it would delve deeper into the world of the main character and continued:

"I think 3's probably the one for all the real diehard Sonic fans. They're gonna get all of those Easter Eggs in it."

Furthermore, Idris Elba spoke up on his experience working with Jim Carrey, stating that although they never had the chance to share the screen, he loved to hear the comedian's voice.

Apart from this franchise, the Concrete Cowboy star has two more projects in his upcoming lineup, titled Heads of State and Fixed. The latter is an animated film, but the makers still need to confirm the release dates. Coming to Heads of State, the 51-year-old will even serve as the executive producer.