Who can become the new villain in Sonic The Hedgehog 4 after Robotnik’s death? Details revealed

The Sonic the Hedgehog series has always centered around one iconic conflict – Sonic facing off against Dr. Robotnik. It was the epic battles against the very worthy foe Robotnik, and his maniacal plans, genius-level intelligence, and selfish desires for control, which embedded identity in the franchise. But what happens to the franchise now that the mustached menace is gone?

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is set to change the game entirely after killing off its primary antagonist, leaving fans shocked, curious, and buzzing with one burning question: Who’s going to take his place?

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What happened to Robotnik in Sonic The Hedgehog 3?

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 sees Ivo Robotnik as he unexpectedly reunites with his long-lost grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik (also played by Jim Carrey). He quickly betrays Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, choosing instead to ally himself with Gerald and Shadow. Under Gerald’s command, their mission is to steal the powerful Eclipse Canon from G.U.N. headquarters in London.

Robotnik initially believes the plan is to use the Eclipse Canon to destroy the G.U.N. base as revenge for Shadow’s past imprisonment and the tragic death of Gerald’s granddaughter, Maria.

But once the Eclipse Canon is sent into orbit, Robotnik realizes Gerald's actual idea: to destroy Earth. Gerald will stop at nothing because he is full of grief and hatred and believes humanity is a failed experiment.

Sonic ultimately convinces Shadow to abandon vengeance, invoking Maria’s memory. Together, they join Robotnik, who fully switches sides. Alongside Tails and Knuckles, they defeat Gerald by hurling him into Canon’s energy vortex, disintegrating him.

Although they manage to redirect the laser and save Earth, the blast slices the moon in half. With the ship now unstable, Robotnik and Shadow sacrifice themselves by steering it away from the planet.

However, the post-credits scene in the film shows that Shadow actually lives on and will probably make an appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 4. With Robotnik gone, the franchise needs a new villain who can face off against Sonic.

With the villainous throne vacant, the next chapter in the franchise needs a formidable new threat. Here's who could possibly fill Robotnik's large shoes.

Shadow

Following the explosive conclusion of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, where Shadow helped save Earth and possibly sacrificed himself with Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 can examine the darker aftermath of such a decision. While the world is celebrating Sonic and his friends, it will be discovered that Shadow survived the vaporization of the Eclipse Canon — albeit just barely.

Not only does Shadow have enough emotional trauma from having lost Maria but also the trauma associated with Project Shadow. Shadow has a history of being manipulated, from Professor Gerald Robotnik to others that had the same plans towards him, that history will still be present in Shadow's psyche. If Shadow is put in a situation where he begins to question the world around him or if he believes his radical actions are needed to carry out justice, it will not be difficult for him to take on an antagonist role, not as a villain in a traditional sense, but an anti-hero with radical ideals.

Shadow is a raw power, with unimaginable speed, and can utilize Chaos Energy to become an adversary that is hard to beat. In Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Shadow may rise as the main opponent if his ideals do not match with Sonic and his group, making him someone that is not evil by nature, but evil through the principles that he has set out for himself. This could provide a framework for a profoundly emotional and morally complex conflict at the center of the story if the makers choose to explore this.

Metal Sonic

Another exciting option for a new villain is Metal Sonic. Created by Robotnik as a counterpart to Sonic, he is a weaponized ego created to be everything Sonic is but better and more evil. Without Robotnik, Metal Sonic’s programming can change, taking him from a creation of Robotnik to possibly questioning his purpose and creator (we've seen this storyline before in films like Avengers: Age of Ultron).

Metal Sonic could rise from the ashes of Robotnik's lab in Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and upon reactivation from some of Metal Sonic's previous instructions, he would have one mission - not to just defeat Sonic, but to end what Robotnik started - at least in his interpretation of that mission. No longer Robotnik's pawn, he could become a rogue and seek to master the world through mechanical order. If freed of Robotnik’s limitations, he then could unlock hidden powers, amend himself, and build an army of tech so advanced that it would make him an existential threat to organic matter.

Transforming Metal Sonic from an obedient creation to a self-aware tyrant would make him an even more terrifying villain, but also a tragic one. His dilemma will not change his decision to be a tyrant, but will certainly highlight the emotional layers within the story as Metal Sonic will become more than just a cold machine.

Gerald Robotnik

We have already seen how Gerald Robotnik had evil intentions, leading to the death of his own son in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. He could return in the fourth film with even more evil intentions.

Gerald essentially lost his mind over a mix of grief and vengeance. He wasn't evil by his own standards of morality, but he clearly changed from a man of science into a bitter, vengeance-concerned figure, proof of which is his attempt to program a weapon to destroy the Earth using science like the Eclipse Cannon.

If Gerald were to reappear, whether through preserved consciousness, artificial intelligence, or some next level experiment gone wrong, he would be an obvious threat. Gerald could even be more dangerous than Dr. Robotnik, who generally has a comedic intention behind his evil plans. Gerald has cold precision and deeply emotional intentions inside his evil motives. If he constructed the belief that humanity was a failed experiment, he may easily execute plans of global devastation that, in his mind's lens, he sees is justified due to the pain he was subjected to throughout his life.

Gerald's understanding of technology, space weaponry, and bioengineering are well above the majority of characters across the franchise. A villain with fresh loss, intelligence, and existential philosophy; Gerald Robotnik is possibly the most horrifying villain the series could have ever encountered.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 will release on 19 March 2027.