Maria’s death
Though Maria does reach a tragic end in Sonic 3, her death is slightly different than it is in the source material. In most versions of the story, whether that be the games, anime, or comics, Maria is shot by GUN agents. In the live-action universe, Maria is nearly shot as she and Shadow attempt to make their escape after GUN shuts down the project and puts Shadow into stasis. However, the GUN agent that had her in his sights is interrupted by Commander Walters, who gets into a scrap with the shooter, leading to a shot being fired into a tank containing deposits of Shadow’s Chaos energy, setting off an explosion that results in Maria’s death. I imagine Paramount didn’t want to put a scene of a child being shot by the military in its widely distributed feature film, though elements of the original scene remain, as her death was still caused by GUN shutting down the project and attempting to eliminate loose ends.
