Mumbai, Dec 17 (IANS): Hollywood actor Jim Carrey has opened up about his role in the upcoming movie “Sonic the Hedgehog 3”, where he reprised his role as the villainous Dr. Robotnik.

Speaking about the challenge of portraying both versions of Robotnik, Carrey says jokingly, “Until I realized I was doing twice the work for the same pay. Next time they’re going to have to throw in a Chaos Emerald or two. But I had asked the universe for a kickass franchise that would endear itself to children everywhere and appeal to the child inside all of us. And blammo, here I am, right through the Sega wormhole.”

“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” is inspired by the popular video game series from Sega. Serving as a sequel to “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2”, the film is directed by Jeff Fowler with a screenplay by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington and a story crafted by Casey and Miller.

Carrey had earlier expressed that the film doesn’t mark his return because he never left the Sonic universe.

Reflecting on his return, the actor shared, “I never left the Sonic universe! Where else would I go? The Sonic universe is all-encompassing. Only a fool would try to quantify it. I think it was Carl Sagan who said, ‘For creatures as small as we, vastness is bearable only through the collection of 50 rings or finding a chaos emerald.’ I’m paraphrasing, of course. Carl Sagan said something completely different, but I’m sure he was a very big Sonic fan, so I don’t think he’d mind.”

Last month, the makers released the second trailer of the film, and it introduced fans to Shadow the Hedgehog, a formidable new antagonist whose arrival raises the stakes for Sonic and his loyal friends.

The forthcoming movie is led by Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba, and Keanu Reeves. The film also features Krysten Ritter, Lee Majdoub, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Shemar Moore, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Alyla Browne, and James Wolk.

“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” is slated to hit theatres on January 3, 2025.