The Brutally Honest Reason Jim Carrey Came Out Of Retirement For Sonic 3

Did Jim Carrey have a deep reason for coming out of retirement to appear in "Sonic 3?" No. But it's definitely relatable! The star talked about what brought him back to filmmaking during an interview in London on December 10. When asked why he was returning to the franchise, he started off by saying, "I came back to this universe because, first of all, I get to play a genius — uh, which is a bit of a stretch." He then followed up with a much more honest reason for his surprise return, confessing: "It's just, uh, I bought a lot of stuff and I need the money, frankly."

But let's rewind — why is anyone surprised that Carrey's back to play Dr. Robotnik? It's mostly because of an Access Hollywood interview he did around the release of "Sonic 2." After admitting that he was retiring from acting, the interviewer was visibly surprised — and also a bit reluctant to believe him. Carrey then offered one condition for returning that has everyone wondering about the "Sonic 3" script: "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. But I'm taking a break."

The key phrase to consider there would seem to be "taking a break." For someone like Carrey who has always messed with interviewers, this is a pretty clear admission that he wasn't actually planning on disappearing forever — just long enough to enjoy some time off before his bank account started to dip below his comfort zone.

Even though Jim Carrey's reason for returning to acting might not be that inspiring, plenty of people took to social media to defend his choice. As one Redditor wrote: "Don't blame him. Pays a s*** ton, and he probably really enjoys the chaotic energy it brings out."

Another user echoed this statement, writing, "He's commented before that he enjoys playing the character since he gets to let loose that megalomaniac version of his acting. Why not get paid to chew the scenery in a 0 stakes role for a nice paycheck!"

In fact, if you scroll through the threads of the Reddit post where this discussion took place, it's hard to find even one single negative comment about his return. The overall consensus — which we fully agree with — is that Carrey has done a big lift in carrying the franchise thus far. Without him, who knows how the movies would have ended up? 

Regardless, we're definitely here for Carrey's third turn as Doctor Robotnik in "Sonic 3," which is set to drop in theaters on December 20.