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Concept art for the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 film has been released, revealing cut content and a look at secret characters from the post-credits scene.
The images are from Chinese designers at Tian He Yan Studio, shared earlier today on Weibo (some film spoilers ahead!).
Coincidentally, the images have been released a day before the film becomes available digitally, just a month after its release in cinemas.
“This time we are mainly responsible for the drawing of some keyframes and some character modeling,” reads the post from Tian He Yan Studio. “The keyframe concept map helps to establish the tone style of the film, and can also assist in guiding the work of visual effects.”
Most of the images depict key events from the film. There’s Shadow and Maria meeting, Eggman watching a telenovela, Super Sonic and Super Shadow battling in space, and that adorable Chao Garden restaurant scene.
But there’s more. Knuckles and Tails are seen riding a motorbike through the streets of London chased by a giant ball of debris, like something out of the Katamari games, in what I presume was a cut action sequence. Another image shows the three Sonic heroes in flight as they escape some sort of sand explosion, with Knuckles covered in scorpions.
Two images are most interesting of all, though, showing both Amy Rose and Metal Sonic. Both of these characters are teased in the film’s post-credit scene – it’s unclear from this artwork if they were originally intended for this film instead, or if this artwork was created solely for their reveals.
Either way, this could be an indication of what to expect in the confirmed film sequel Sonic 4. Amy, for instance, is seen standing over Sonic just as she does in her reveal, though there’s a large destroyed robot that’s not the Metal Sonic we see in Sonic 3. What’s going on in the background?
The other image shows Metal Sonic alongside Eggman wearing some sort of elaborate emperor garb, a cyberpunk-esque metropolis in the background. This was certainly not part of Sonic 3, with fans suggesting it could be some sort of bad future. If true, it would line up with theories the next film will be inspired by the time-travelling Sonic CD.
If you’re yet to see the film, or wish to watch it again, it’ll be available digitally tomorrow (21st January).
Last week, the animator behind the film’s low poly credit sequence detailed its creation – including designing the first ever Classic Shadow.
“Sega and Paramount more closely align game and film worlds for an authentic Sonic romp with added Keanu cool,” reads our film review of Sonic the Hedgehog 3.