There was a mid-credit and an end-credit scene after Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and one of those perfectly sets up the storyline for Sonic 4.
Of course, there are always fears that the post-credit scenes will end up going nowhere. They tease something that could be, but then the creators have no plans for them. They were added in for fun more than anything else.
That could have certainly been the case for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. However, if you’re going to bring in two iconic characters from the games via end credit scenes, you need to use them in the next movie. And there’s certainly storylines available for Sonic the Hedgehog 4.
We’re not talking about the Shadow reveal in Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Of course, I would personally love to see Shadow return in the fourth movie. The end credit scene showed that he did survive the blast in space, and he made it down to Earth. There are a lot of questions about how that was possible—my 12-year-old is sharing all of her theories regularly with me—but the fact of the matter is that Shadow is an awesome character and we need to see him now that he realized that vengeance was the wrong path.
Sonic and co. are likely to need Shadow’s help in a team up. It’s not this end credit scene that perfectly sets up a storyline for the fourth movie. It’s the other one. The one that involved Amy Rose and Metal Sonic.
Metal Sonic can be the main villain of Sonic the Hedgehog 4
It may initially seem obvious, but it also makes a lot of sense considering the games. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 will need a villain, and why not Metal Sonic? Isn’t he the character so many have waited patiently for? I know my 12-year-old has!
Amy Rose stepped in to save Sonic from Metal Sonic. It’s clear that Metal Sonic has been sent to Earth to destroy Sonic, so the question is why. Amy Rose seems to know something—she knew exactly where Metal Sonic would be to save the day.
Jeff Fowler, who has directed the three movies so far, has confirmed via Screen Rant that there have been talks about how to include Amy Rose and Metal Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 4. He didn’t want to bring the characters into the post-credit scenes only to not be able to use them. One thing I have said about this movie franchise so far is that it’s made for the fans. And I do think there are some fans behind the production as well. So, I had faith before reading the interview that there were plans for Amy Rose and Metal Sonic.
"So, there's certainly, as we were winding down on Sonic 3, and as we were prepping that post-credit teaser, we absolutely have had a lot of really great creative discussions and got excited by some ideas. Because you don't want to paint yourself into a corner and put a character in there and then not know what you're going to do with it."
Now it’s just putting together the ideas. There is no director attached to Sonic the Hedgehog 4 just yet, but it sounds like Fowler is onboard. Now we just have to wait to see if it all pays off.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is coming to theaters on March 19, 2027.