SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for the ending and post-credits scenes of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, in theaters now.

Just like the ending of the first two “Sonic the Hedgehog” films, the third part introduces the fourth film, which will be released in cinemas in 2027, with a surprise appearance.

After Team Sonic saves the world from Dr. After saving Ivo Robotnik and his grandfather Gerald Robotnik (both played by Jim Carrey), Sonic (Ben Schwartz) finishes his race with Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba) to find out who is the fastest. The blue hedgehog wins the race easily as he is way ahead of his friends and gets lost in the dark forest. Things quickly take a turn when Sonic finds himself surrounded by a group of robots that look exactly like him. The robots’ designs are based on Metal Sonic, an evil android created by Dr. Robotnik was developed in the video games. Metal Sonic is one of Robotnik’s most elite creations with all of Sonic’s powers and more, such as super strength, invisibility, chaos powers and self-replication.

Luckily, as the Metal Sonics close in on the hero, he is saved by a cloaked figure, who turns out to be fan-favorite character Amy Rose. Just as Tails and Shadow (Keanu Reeves) were teased at the end of the first two Sonic films, it’s clear that Amy will star in Sonic 4. Amy is a pink hedgehog and is often portrayed as Sonic’s lover. Although she doesn’t have the speed of Sonic or the strength of Knuckles, she wields a giant hammer that can easily defeat any enemy.

What about Shadow and the Robotniks? Well, they all seem to meet their demise in the final battle aboard the giant space cannon. After being betrayed by his grandfather, Ivo pushes Gerald into the energy reactor, and then he and Shadow sacrifice themselves to move the laser away from Earth. The space base explodes with everyone on it – but it wouldn’t be the first time that Ivo miraculously survives apparent death. Ivo also returned after disappearing at the end of Sonic 2. However, the final post-credits scene confirms that Shadow survived the explosion and flies back to Earth, preparing him for his appearance in Sonic 4.

Schwartz remained tight-lipped about what “Sonic 4” might entail, but teased that it will be “beautiful” and different than the previous three films.

“The very things we tout at the end of this film are exactly the things we would hopefully do for the fourth one. There is a beautiful plot that can be exploited and takes our film to a completely different place,” he said. “That’s what makes this exciting. Each of these films almost feels like a different genre. The first part is a kind of buddy comedy. The second part is like an adventure film, “Indiana Jones”. This one brings the darkness into the shadows, and the next one can have a completely different atmosphere. It’s just heaven. We also get to bring in incredible people to play new characters and stuff like that, which is very exciting.”