Over the last four years, Jim Carrey has only played one role in the movies space: Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series. He’s just one of the many Carrey characters who’ve behaved like an absolute sociopath, but ahead of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the actor said he was probably retiring from performing. And yet, here we have Carrey back as Robotnik, as well as playing the villain’s grandfather for the first time, for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, one of the final 2024 movie releases. Carrey went over what drew him back for the threequel despite his previous retirement comments, and I find one of the reasons he provided to be hilariously relatable.
While speaking with Carrey at the worldwide premiere of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in London, The Associated Press brought up how the actor has previously said could be coaxed back for a project “if the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink.” Carrey laughed at this and then said the following when the interviewer asked if Sonic 3’s script was the script:
That might have been hyperbole, but yeah. I came back to this universe because, first of all, I get to play a genius, which is a bit of a stretch. And it’s just… I bought a lot of stuff and I need the money, frankly.
Look, I can understand Jim Carrey enjoying playing a genius, especially since bringing Dr. Robotnik makes excellent use of his physical comedy skills. But let’s be real, acting is ultimately a job, a way for someone to make a living. So while Carrey is one of Hollywood’s most successful actors and made the big bucks over the years, evidently he hit a point where he needed a little extra income, hence why he signed on for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. We’ve all been there, right? Well, not the Hollywood actor, but just needing more money to buy stuff.
No doubt Paramount Pictures paid Jim Carrey quite the pretty penny for him to come back for Sonic 3, and this time the studio got a two-for-one deal. This time around though, Ivo Robotnik will team up with Sonic, Tails and Knuckles to deal with the mysterious Shadow the Hedgehog, who’s voiced by Keanu Reeves. As mentioned earlier, Carrey is also playing Gerald Robotnik, Ivo’s grandfather who created Shadow. So if you’ve enjoyed the actor’s antics as the younger Robotnik, get ready for a double dose thanks to this grandson/grandfather duo.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 arrives in theaters on December 20. You can catch up on this corner of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise by streaming the first two movies and the Knuckles spinoff series with a Paramount+ subscription.