Keanu Reeves voices Shadow, the vengeful and moody doppelganger of the title speedster in "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," based on the video-game franchise.

Academy-Award nominated director and animator Fowler is on a whirlwind tour with the third Sonic, which is released on Dec. 20. During a London stopover, he sat down with Deadline to talk about the new movie, its starry cast, what might come next in the world of Sonic… and his special relationship with Shadow.

Sonic shares more in common with Fast & Furious' Dominic Toretto than you might think. Sure, on the surface, one's a blue hedgehog and the other's a bulky Vin Diesel who's welded to a Dodge Charger, but let me explain.