Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is full of Easter eggs that “honor and celebrate” SEGA’s iconic franchise – and there’s one the director loves that you may have missed.
Jeff Fowler’s Sonic movies have always been chock-full of incredible Easter eggs that’d make any Sonic player point at the screen; some are obvious, like Tails’ biplane and the sound of rings hitting the floor, while others are cleverly shown, like Sonic 2 sneaking in one of the games’ release dates in Tails’ translator.
He’s a knowledgeable authority on Sonic. After all, one of his first jobs was working as an animator on 2005’s Shadow the Hedgehog, and he also helped with the cinematics in Sonic ’06 (don’t blame him for anything).
Sonic 3 doesn’t disappoint with its Easter eggs (including a couple that hint Sonic 4 could be based on Sonic Heroes), but there’s one that may have passed you by.
Sonic 3 director snuck in a Biolizard Easter egg
Sorry, Sonic Adventure 2 fans: Sonic 3 may be heavily inspired by the classic game, but Gerald Robotnik’s Biolizard is nowhere to be seen… almost.
The Biolizard may not be part of the threequel’s plot, but Fowler found space for a nod to the superpowered reptile.
In an interview with Dexerto, we asked the director to choose his favorite Easter egg. “ I don’t know if you caught the Biolizard in the black and white footage that Shadow and Maria are watching, the little monster movie on the television?” he said.
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Around midway through the film, we see a flashback of Shadow and Maria enjoying themselves in Gerald’s secret base; they rollerskate along the halls, sit under the stars, and watch movies together.
Specifically, in one scene, we see them watching Beware the Alien Freak. It’s incredibly brief, but we can see a large, lizard-like creature attacking a city – and that’s a “’50s rendition of the Biolizard,” Fowler revealed.
For the uninitiated, the Biolizard was effectively Shadow’s prototype in the games. Gerald was tasked with creating the “ultimate” immortal lifeform, and similarly to Spider-Man’s Dr Connors, he immediately thought of how certain reptiles can regenerate limbs.
So, when it had the power of the Chaos Emeralds, it became too powerful and unruly, so it was captured and locked away in suspended animation until the events of Sonic Adventure 2.
In the meantime, find out more about the Sonic 3 Build-A-Bear collab. You can also check out our list of the best video game movies and the best movies of 2024.
