The Knuckles spinoff show is finally here, and it has created a major new challenge for one returning character who could appear in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In the saga of the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movies, Knuckles is set between Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, with it acting as a brief detour in an otherwise focused story. However, the spinoff show has undoubtedly had an effect on the franchise due to its use of movie characters. Because of this, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 may struggle when Knuckles passes the franchise baton off.
The Paramount+ Knuckles spinoff series is finally here, with the highly anticipated continuation of the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie series now released in full on the streaming service. Knuckles follows the titular red echidna as he befriends Deputy Sheriff Wade Whipple and attempts to turn him into the ultimate warrior, preparing Wade for his greatest challenge yet. Although Knuckles is a spinoff series, it does reuse a lot of characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, meaning that Knuckles will play a part in the upcoming third movie.
Wade Whipple is a huge part of the Knuckles TV show, meaning that he needs a much bigger Sonic the Hedgehog 3 role after his Knuckles spotlight. Wade is arguably the main character of the Knuckles TV show, with the series centering around his character arc and him by far being the human with the most screentime. Wade Whipple goes through a full transformation throughout the six episodes of Knuckles, and now that audience members have a feel for who the character is, he can’t go away now.
In the previous two Sonic the Hedgehog movies, Wade Whipple was an incredibly minor supporting character, with him only being a comedic relief character in a handful of human-centric scenes. Now that Knuckles has turned Wade into a fully-fledged character, it would be weird to reset him to the role that he played in the first two films. Wade Whipple is a big deal now that he got the spotlight during the Knuckles spinoff series, and his prominence needs to continue into Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
As Knuckles has proven, Wade is one of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie series’ few good human characters, and this is why he should be used again in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. One of the biggest criticisms of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies is the human characters, which some fans consider to be pointless and a distraction from Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and the rest of the video game characters. Despite this, the human characters are prominently used throughout the two movies and TV show, and there are no signs of stopping in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
If the Sonic the Hedgehog movies are going to continue to use human characters prominently, they might as well use ones that audiences already like. Rather than trying to build up another new and uninteresting character, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 should highlight Wade Whipple’s contributions to the franchise, building off of his Knuckles storyline. Despite some viewers not being a fan of Wade’s prominence in the movies, it is hard to deny that he is a fun character, which is why he should step back into the spotlight in the next film.
Although it might seem strange to give Wade Whipple a major part in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Knuckles has already set up his perfect storyline. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will finally introduce Shadow the Hedgehog to the franchise, and it seems like the film will be going with an origin story that is accurate to the games. This means that G.U.N. will play a role in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, as they are the organization that kills Maria and sets off Shadow’s character arc.
While there were some mentions of G.U.N. in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, it had a much bigger role in Knuckles, with Wade and Knuckles facing off against two rogue agents. Since Wade Whipple already has a connection to G.U.N. and has seen the dangers of the organization, he could easily fit into Sonic the Hedgehog 3‘s story, being the connective tissue between the protagonists and the antagonists. This means that Wade could play a huge role in the film, paying off his Knuckles setup.