The Sonic The Hedgehog movie has performed incredibly well due to a number of factors, making it one of the highest grossing video game movies of all time. Naturally, though, with the release and success of a Sonic movie, many fans of the franchise feel the next logical step is not a sequel, but a Shadow the Hedgehog movie to go alongside Sonic's film. The potential for a movie about Shadow the Hedgehog is definitely there given the character's more dramatic backstory and popularity among fans, and there is a lot of creative freedom to be found in the universe which Sonic's film set up.
For those unaware, Sonic The Hedgehog was a box office hit, holding the top spot for several weeks despite the trend that video game movies tend not to do well. A large part of this was due to the Sonic redesign that changed Sonic from an unpleasant anthropomorphic hedgehog into a more pleasant anthropomorphic hedgehog that fans were more familiar with. Shadow is Sonic's rival, so it seems only natural that the next installment in the film series should focus on him, or at least include him as a side character or potentially even as a villain in the next sequel.
Who is Shadow the Hedgehog
Even though Shadow appears nearly identical to Sonic, he has a rather unique history in the world of Sonic the Hedgehog, given that his backstory is much more dramatic and dark than any other characters. Dr. Robotnik's grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, genetically engineered and created Shadow in an attempt to cure his grand-daughter Maria who, at the time, was suffering from a fatal illness. Shadow is immortal, so it is likely that Gerald Robotnik planned to use this quality to heal Maria, but things instead took a turn for the worse.
Maria and Shadow formed a very close bond with each other, becoming great friends in the process, but this friendship was to be short-lived. The military deemed Shadow a threat to the world's safety, and through the course of attempting to capture him, killed Maria instead. Though Shadow vowed to Maria to protect the world, this loss caused him to question that vow at times. Shadow is eventually captured, and he is placed into suspended animation until he is later discovered and brought back by none other than Dr. Robotnik himself.
Shadow The Hedgehog Movie
Obviously, there is a lot to work with here for a movie. Whether all of this is the focus of a movie or just the backdrop behind it makes no difference; the character has room to grow. In other Sonic media, Shadow is manipulated by Dr. Robotnik into framing Sonic, but ultimately realizes the error of his ways and stays true to his promise with Maria, helping Sonic and co. save the day. This storyline from Sonic Adventure 2 seems most likely to be adapted into a movie out of what already exists, but then much of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie was original content that wasn't based off of previous games anyway.
Unfortunately, Shadow has also been the topic of much criticism. The character is sometimes viewed as too "edgy" for what is otherwise a fun, care-free franchise, and there is definitely merit in that statement. In Shadow's standalone game, Shadow the Hedgehog, he runs around with guns, killing people and aliens alike, in a way that feels unlike any other Sonic game. That said, the popularity of the character in general is undeniable, and although the Sonic franchise has made several missteps in the past, the team behind the Sonic the Hedgehog movie could likely do great things with the character of Shadow the Hedgehog.
Sonic the Hedgehog is in theaters now.