Keanu Reeves is at the centre of the attention around Paramount’s upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3, with a leaked press document fuelling rumours about his potential role.

However, the studio has yet to officially confirmed the casting.

Why it matters: The discovery of a double-compressed press document has intensified speculation about Reeves’ rumoured voice-over role as Shadow the Hedgehog ahead of the film’s first promotional trailer.

The details: Tails’ Channel and the Sonic Stadium independently inspected a copy of the document. It disclosed the movie poster’s credit list (or “billing”) and several promotional assets.

  • The press kit contained several full-colour and print variants of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 logo and title for international promotion, like the tentative Sonic × Shadow: Tokyo Mission for Japan.
  • The movie’s billing mentioned Reeves on the second line. Actress Krysten Ritter (officially disclosed in an unannounced role) was mentioned on the first line alongside Ben Schwartz and Jim Carrey.
  • The document may have originated from an internal Paramount website before it was leaked on the site formerly known on Twitter early Saturday morning, and was subsequently spotted by Tails’ Channel and Sonic Stadium editors.

Context: The leak comes on the heels of a major data breach from Netflix’s post-production partners earlier this month, raising concerns about security practices within the industry.

  • It’s unclear whether the press document was accidently leaked or if it was obtained through dubious means.

Yes, but: Despite the excitement from movie fans, Paramount has not commented on the leak or Reeves’ involvement in the third Sonic film.

What’s next: Self-described industry insiders hint that the first trailer could be released as early as next week (the last week of August), despite claims it was scheduled to drop in early July.