Sonic 3 Director Reveals Deleted Scene Explaining Gerald Robotnik’s Survival

Jim Carrey is back in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, reprising his role as the eccentric Dr. Ivo Robotnik while also taking on the part of Gerald Robotnik, Ivo’s long-lost grandfather. But fans are scratching their heads about how Gerald, a key figure in the video games, is still alive in the movie despite being over 100 years old.

In an interview with ComicBook, director Jeff Fowler revealed that a deleted scene was meant to explain Gerald’s surprising longevity. “There’s [deleted] scenes where we’re seeing him take little hits off a Shadow quill the same way that Robotnik takes hits off Sonic’s quill,” Fowler explained. “The idea was that that chaos energy was having a revitalizing effect and that energy was keeping him alive and sort of rolling back the effects of time a little bit.”

Fowler detailed the visual concept, saying, “There was a scene of Gerald taking a little hit in prison and then watching the heavy wrinkling roll back and smooth out a little bit. That was, visually, gonna tell the story of how he’s managed to be frozen in time the way he is.”

While the scene would have tied neatly into the recurring theme of quills being a source of power in the Sonic Cinematic Universe, it was ultimately cut to maintain the film’s pacing. Fowler admitted, “The movie is so packed with characters and with storylines it just felt like anything that wasn’t absolutely essential… just had to go.”

The concept aligns with the first two films, where Robotnik sought Sonic’s quills to power his machines, and the Knuckles series on Paramount+ introduced the idea of using quills to power weapons. Shadow’s quills keeping Gerald alive adds another layer to the ongoing storyline.

Fans may not have seen this moment in theaters, but there’s hope it could make its way into the Blu-ray release as an extra.

What do you think about Gerald Robotnik’s backstory in Sonic the Hedgehog 3? Would you have liked to see the deleted scene? Share your thoughts below and let us know if you think the chaos energy plotline adds to the franchise!