Sonic the Hedgehog is in The Angry Birds Movie 3 for some reason

If you thought you'd have to wait till next March to see Sonic the Hedgehog at the theater again in Sonic 4, boy do we have good news: the blue blur will appear in this December's animated sequel Angry Birds 3 for, er, no particular reason we can discern.

The surprise appearance is revealed/spoiled in the movie's second official trailer, which features a very brief shot of Sonic running at super-speed alongside yellow canary Chuck (voiced by Josh Gad in the movies). Other than that, there's zero context for why Sonic is suddenly a part of the Angry Birds franchise despite not having appeared in the first two movies. Check it out below.

The truth is likely that this is just a bit of corporate synergy. Sega bought Angry Birds studio Rovio back in 2023. It stands to reason that they might want to give Angry Birds 3, which is arriving 7 years after the last movie and long after the mobile game's peak, a boost given Sonic's big-screen popularity. We don't yet know if either 'live-action' Sonic Ben Schwartz or animated Sonic voice actor Roger Craig Smith will reprise their Sonic roles for Angry Birds 3.

Angry Birds 3 will see Red (Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis) take on his biggest challenge yet: fatherhood, to three little birds who don't even seem all that angry from the trailer. The movie will face stiff competition in theaters, as it's releasing alongside Jumanji 3, and hot on the heels of Avengers: Doomsday and Dune 3.

The Angry Birds Movie 3 releases in theaters on December 25. For more, check out our ranking of the best video game movies.