Sonic the Hedgehog Movie
Image: Paramount Pictures

We are still a little way off the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (the movie) which is set to come to cinemas in December 2024. But today, we have had an interesting look at what's going down on set with a pretty clear hint of the events to come.

We knew that Shadow the Hedgehog was going to be cropping up in the third movie — cemented by the recent logo reveal — and that led many fans to the assumption that Maria Robotnik would be too. Well, it looks like the assumption was correct.

The young actor Alyla Browne has today shared a couple of on-set photos for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, importantly showing the name that happens to be adorning her chair: Maria.

As a recap, Maria Robotnik is the granddaughter of Professor Gerald Robotnik and the cousin of Doctor Robotnik (who we know Jim Carrey will be returning to play). Her storyline was shown in Sonic Adventure 2 and the Sonic X anime, but let's just say that it is rather important to Shadow's backstory.

And yes, just to cover all bases, there is every chance that Browne is playing somebody else called Maria who just happens to be a young girl with blonde hair. The fact that she is appearing in the film with Shadow could be a complete coincidence. But come on...

As for why she is wearing her coat that way around, well, if the film is heading in the direction that we think it is, then it's probably better to chalk this one up to one of those IYKYK situations.

There is plenty of Sonic content speeding our way in the months before the third film's release. We have the Paramount+ Knuckles series to look forward to and we have Sonic X Shadow Generations coming to Switch in Q3 too. 2024 is looking bright for fans of the blue blur.

Are you excited to see Maria's storyline on the big screen? Let us know in the comments.

[source instagram.com]