Jim Carrey's Sonic 3 Return Is A Huge First In His 43-Year Hollywood Career

It seems Jim Carrey isn't done getting up to wacky movie shenanigans. According to a report from Variety, the esteemed actor is slated to reprise his role as the villainous Dr. Robotnik in the upcoming 2024 flick "Sonic the Hedgehog 3." The news comes after Carrey announced his retirement from acting before the release of "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" in 2022, suggesting that the sequel would be his final credit. Instead, "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" may be the "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" star's last performance, and it would be one that would break new ground in his career.

Carrey has an acting portfolio spanning decades, and he's been part of several film franchises in that time. The performer has popped up in properties like Batman, Ace Ventura, The Mask, Kick-Ass, Anchorman, and many more. However, despite his prominence in pop culture, Carrey has never appeared in three movies within the same series — until now.

Jim Carrey going the first four decades of his career without appearing in more than two movies from the same franchise is no coincidence. The actor has, on various occasions, expressed his aversion to sequels. "I find sequels are a function of commerce for the most part," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. "At least, the two that I've done, they were characters that I really enjoyed doing, but I did find myself almost parodying myself at that point. When you put 10 years between you and the last time you did it, suddenly you're going, 'How did I do that again?'"

Despite his feelings about sequels, Carrey appears to consider his role as Dr. Robotnik in the Sonic the Hedgehog movies to be the rare exception to the rule. "These movies were made close together, and they were like an evolution that was being planned in my own head, at least, from the get-go," he said in an interview with ComicBook while promoting "Sonic the Hedgehog 2."

At the time that Carrey originally suggested he was retiring, he noted that the potential of a strong project might be enough to get him to return. "It depends," he said in an interview with Access Hollywood. "If the angels bring some sort of script that's written in gold ink, that says to me that it's going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road."

Despite its sequel status, "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" seems persuasive enough to get Carrey out of retirement for at least one more go-around.