Everyone’s favorite video game hedgehog is back. On Tuesday, Paramount released the trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, set for release in December. Our favorite cast and characters, including James Marsden, Jim Carrey, and Sonic’s voice actor Ben Schwartz, are all back for the third outing. And there are a few new faces joining them as well.
The biggest addition to the Sonic family is Hollywood’s resident nice guy, Keanu Reeves, as new adversary Shadow the Hedgehog. The casting was a reward for devoted fans, who had pitched Reeves as the ideal voice for the divisive character since his cameo in the second film. This also marks the latest high-profile franchise project for Reeves, who enjoyed a career resurgence in the late 2010s and early 2020s thanks to John Wick and legacy sequels to Bill & Ted and The Matrix. If anyone can liven up Shadow’s famously weak characterization and line delivery, it’s Keanu. Though he does not appear on screen, Sonic 3 also marks a reunion for Reeves and Jim Carrey after appearing together in The Bad Batch. And don’t worry if you didn’t remember that those two legends previously shared the screen. It seems that not many people did. How did a Reeves and Carrey movie fly so far under the radar? Let’s take a look.
Keanu and Carrey Both Appeared in 2016’s The Bad Batch
In addition to Reeves joining the cast, Carrey is donning his Dr. Robotnik gear for the third time. The manic mad scientist seems tailor-made for him. One wouldn’t immediately jump to “dystopian thriller” when a Jim Carrey role is imagined, but that’s exactly where we last saw Reeves and him. Keanu and Jim both appeared in the 2016 film The Bad Batch, which is not related to the Star Wars animated series.
The story centers on a dystopian world where the US government exiles the titular “bad batch” of undesirable citizens to a Texas-adjacent desert where they fend for themselves. A woman named Arlen (Suki Waterhouse) is sent to this desert, where she is kidnapped by two women. One of them cuts off her arm and leg, with Arlen observing cannibalism of human limbs. Arlen manages to kill the woman and escape, where she’s rescued by a desert hermit (Carrey) who brings her to a makeshift town settlement called Comfort. After settling in Comfort, Arlen kills another cannibalistic woman and takes a little girl who was with the woman back to town. The hermit sees this and directs the little girl’s father, Miami Man (Jason Momoa), to Comfort after he finds the dead body.
Arlen soon loses track of the little girl named Honey outside of town. Miami Man finds Arlen and forces her to bring him to Honey, who’s since been taken in by Comfort’s leader, The Dream (Reeves). The two set out back to Comfort, though Miami Man is shot by another cannibal on the way. Arlen locates The Dream, who offers her to join his harem of concubines that keep the town running. She agrees but takes one of the concubines hostage until she can free Honey. Arlen and Honey escape and find Miami Man, who was healed from his injuries by the hermit. Honey and Miami Man reunite, and Arlen joins them as she no longer wants to live in Comfort.
Why Isn’t The Bad Batch More Well Known?
Just your typical trip of a Jim Carrey movie, right? The Bad Batch first premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2016. Shortly after this release, Netflix acquired the title for distribution. The Bad Batch received a limited theatrical release in the United States on June 23, 2017. And it was very limited, as the total box office return was just $201k against a modest $6 million budget. A Netflix and digital sales release via iTunes and Prime Video accompanied the theatrical release, as well as DVD and Blu-ray that September.
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Critics weren’t exactly sold on the somewhat “out-there” premise. The Bad Batch sits at a less-than-impressive 45% on Rotten Tomatoes. The screenplay, slow narrative, and the overly long two-hour runtime were criticized. Some critics did praise the visuals but noted they did little to offset the weak story. However, it was selected to compete for Venice’s highest film honor, the Golden Lion. While it didn’t take home that top prize, The Bad Batch did manage to walk away with the Special Jury Prize.
That underperformance is likely why The Bad Batch is not more widely known by filmgoers today. While the vibe seems in line with Reeves’ work, it’s not a genre we would immediately associate with Jim Carrey. The Bad Batch could be worth checking out just for that alone. It’s about as polar opposite to the Sonic franchise as you can get. If you’re in the mood to see a Keanu and Carrey collab before the third Sonic outing, put this underrated Netflix title on your list. Stream The Bad Batch on Netflix. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is hitting theaters on Dec. 20, 2024.
