Paramount Pictures’ Sonic the Hedgehog franchise will officially continue in a fourth instalment, set to be released in Spring 2027 [Northern Hemisphere]. The news arrives courtesy of Variety, which confirmed Paramount has high expectations for the future success of the franchise, particularly considering the strong reviews of the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
As noted, this film is expected to chart well at the box office, with “USD $$55 million to $60 million from 3,800 North American theatres” expected for its Friday premiere. Ahead of this launch, the film has achieved an 87% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with many reviews suggesting it’s a vast improvement on its predecessors, thanks to the addition of Shadow the Hedgehog, and a more mature story.
The first two Sonic the Hedgehog films proved to be wildly successful for Paramount, so there’s a strong basis for the studio’s faith in the franchise. The original film received mixed-to-positive reviews for its silly humour and strong performances, and earned around USD $320 million at the global box office. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 also received mixed-to-positive reviews, and earned around USD $405 million at the box office.
Paramount is clearly hoping for bigger and brighter with Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and given the anticipation backing this movie, and its much stronger reviews, it could be on track to eclipse its predecessors.
Read: Sonic X Shadow Generations review – Reborn in darkness
It’s no wonder Paramount is already locking in a fourth film – although, this announcement may also have been the result of the third film’s end credits scene leaking online earlier this week. We won’t share spoilers here – in fact, we’re avoiding them ourselves, as Sonic the Hedgehog 3 doesn’t release in Australian cinemas until Boxing Day – but based on online chatter, the end credits scene does link to future developments in the franchise.
After this leak, it seemed obvious Sonic the Hedgehog 3 would pave the way for the next film or Paramount+ spin-off, and now this has been officially confirmed.
Those keen to see what’s next will need to be patient, as Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is only now entering development for that 2027 release date. But as we all know, time moves swiftly – just like Sonic – and we’ll learn more about the film before we know it.
