WhileSonic the Hedgehog 4is still a ways away, the previous movie teased what new characters the sequel was going to revolve around. These include Amy Rose and Metal Sonic, some of the most iconiccharacters from theSonicfranchise. The previous movies have set up a tradition of introducing a new character or characters in the post-credits scenes of each movie, and then using them as the backbone of the next movie’s story.Sonic 4will undoubtedly continue this, makingAmy and Metal Sonic the biggest players in the film’s story.
While the specifics of these characters' stories could go nearly anywhere, the filmmakers have proven that they know how to make a compelling story within this universe, andSonic 4’s storywill likely be no different. In fact, one behind-the-scenes tidbit aboutSonic 3’s development is a sign thatAmy Rose’s story in the fourth installment is going to be a fitting introductionfor one of the most popular characters in the entire franchise.
Amy Rose Was Almost Included In Sonic The Hedgehog 3’s Main Story
She Would Have Been Another Ally For Team Sonic
WhileSonic 3was more of a direct adaptation of the video games than either of the previous movies, it still needed to make plenty of changes to the story in order for it to fit the medium of film.One of those changes involved the characters who were involved with the story.In the originalSonic Adventure 2, characters like Rouge and Amy had a pretty significant impact on the story, alongside thecharacters seen inSonic 3, like Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise thatSonic 3’s writers, Pat Casey and Josh Miller, revealed that there had been conversations aboutintroducing Amy Rose during the actual movie, as opposed to just in the post-credits scene. She wasn’t one of the main playable characters in the game, butshe was very important for both Sonic and Shadow’s character arcs, and including her in the movie would have been a natural way to further adapt the original story. However, the filmmakers ultimately decided against this idea, and saved Amy entirely for the sequel.
Sonic 4 Can Give Amy Rose The Major Role Sonic 3 Couldn’t
She Can Be Given Much More Time To Shine In Her Own Movie
While it would’ve been fun to see the character appear inSonic 3, she more than likely wouldn’t have felt like a worthwhile addition, and savingAmy forSonic 4was probably the best.Sonic 3already had a very full cast, andincluding Amy Rose would’ve either taken time away from some of the more important people, like Sonic or Shadow, or her role would’ve felt like a wasted introduction of one of the biggest characters from the games.
Sonic 3’s introduction of Shadow felt like a culmination of the series so far, so ensuring that future newcomers are given the same time to shine is vital to the continued success of the movies.
As Amy is now going to be one of the main players inSonic 4,she can be given a role that feels like it lives up to the character’s name, fully exploring the reasons as to why she is a worthwhile addition to the franchise, as opposed to just being someone they can throw in that audiences will recognize.Sonic 3’s introduction of Shadow felt like a culmination of the series so far, so ensuring that future newcomers are given the same time to shine is vital to the continued success of the movies.
How Amy Rose’s Role In Sonic 4 Could Still Be Troublesome For The Franchise
The Sonic Movies Are Continuing To Bring In New Faces
However, Amy’s introduction inSonic 4brings its own set of problems with it, namely the fact that theSonicmovies now have so many different charactersto juggle,it will be extremely difficult to ensure each one feels like they have something to do. Even inSonic 3, it felt like some characters, particularly Tails and Knuckles, were sidelined in favor of telling the main story about Sonic and Shadow. Amy is yet another character for the franchise to develop, and splitting screentime between even more characters is a very dangerous road to go down.
This is where video games have a distinct advantage. While the movies need to be a pretty tight two hours at most,the games can take dozens of hours to explore each and every characterfor as long as is needed. If the roster of those films continues to grow, which it definitely is going to forSonic the Hedgehog 4, there will need to be some extremely clever writing and plotting to ensure each new addition doesn’t feel like they’re simply taking time away from everyone else.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4is set to be released on July 23, 2025.
