Shadow The Hedgehog is one of the top favourite characters and fan favourites in the entirety of the Sonic franchise, and according to several polls online, Shadow's popularity is only 2nd to Sonic himself, and his presence continues to be strongly featured in Sonic media to this day, ever since his first iconic appearance in Sonic Adventure 2 for the Dreamcast in 2001.

Shadow's popularity continues to grow overtime, and SEGA has taken the opportunity to make 2024 the official "Fearless Year of Shadow", with a whole new marketing campaign focusing on Shadow The Hedgehog.

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SEGA gave their own explanation about the Year of Shadow through the official website for the event:

In 2024, we’re bringing Shadow into the light with a new fan celebration campaign – Fearless: Year of Shadow.

While we ran with our successful Fast. Friends. Forever. program last year, our new annual campaign this year celebrates what it means to be Fearless, and embracing your inner Shadow:

BREAK BARRIERS
BE UNAFRAID
BE AT YOUR BEST
AND DO IT ALL WITH A POWERFUL CONFIDENCE.

But don’t just take it from us, witness it from the Ultimate Lifeform himself as we take you on an action-packed ride throughout the year filled with countless energetic moments.

Hang tight and check out “News” section below for updates as the Fearless: Year of Shadow unfolds.

The Year of Shadow consists so far of several events:

• Started off with the early announcement back in February of "Sonic X Shadow Generations", which adds new content into the original Sonic Generations with a Shadow-centric campaign and story, as well as a remastered version of the original Sonic Generations.
  

  
• SEGA created a brand custom motorcycle "Dark Rider" to honour Shadow The Hedgehog and his motorcycle from the self-titled game and later modified for All-Stars Racing, where it got the Dark Rider title. The chopper will be on tour for people to see it, starting off in Austin, TX on April 12-14.
  

  

  
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• A brand new LEGO set featuring Shadow The Hedgehog will be available, which includes Shadow, his motorcycle and a Dr. Eggman Tower.
  

  

  
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• New "Fearless" events will be available in both Sonic Forces and Sonic Dash, with a chance to unlock variants of Shadow, like Super Shadow, Shadow Lancelot, Vampire Shadow and Dragon Hunter Lancelot.
  

  

  
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• The Sonic Speed Cafe will offer special Shadow product themes, photo opps and menu items.
  

  

  
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• The incredible Sonic Symphony will now feature original Shadow The Hedgehog scores in their world tour, alongside some of Shadow's coolest moments on-screen.
  

  

These are so far all the events related to Shadow The Hedgehog in honour of his year, but it still remains to be seen if SEGA will make any further announcements or releases during the year focusing on Shadow The Hedgehog (or perhaps even a remaster of his self-titled game, who knows).

Fearless: Year of Shadow Official Website

 

[Robert Newbie]

Guys guys guys GUYS, voice for Shadow in Sonic Movie 3 is the almighty Keanu REEVES. This is in fact, YEAR of SHADOW

Yeah, I just replied in the main thread too. I don't usually think about casting, so when I read the news, I put two and two together. Keanu Reeves really is a good choice for the role.

 

[Maximumbeans]

An event for Sonic Forces? Sorry, what?