Jim Carrey says he came out of retirement to star in Sonic The Hedgehog 3 because he "needed the money".

The Canadian-American actor, who reprises his role as antagonist Dr 'Eggman' Robotnik for the franchise's third instalment, made the remark while speaking to a journalist at the film's London premiere on Tuesday.

The reporter asked him: "You said in past interviews that you would come back, if you got a script written in gold ink by angels. Is this the script?"

The 62-year-old star laughed and responded: "That might have been hyperbole, but, yeah. You know, I came back to this universe because first of all, I get to play a genius.

"Which is a bit of a stretch and, you know, it's just… I bought a lot of stuff, and I need the money, frankly. Yeah."

Carrey said he was retiring during an interview with Access Hollywood in 2022 - though he added: "Yeah… probably. I'm being fairly serious.

"I really like my quiet life and I really like putting paint on canvas and I really love my spiritual life and I feel like - and this is something you might never hear another celebrity say as long as time exists - I have enough. I've done enough. I am enough," he said.

He added he would only take another role "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".

The first two Sonic films reportedly earned a combined $725m (£568m), making them some of the highest-grossing projects Carrey has been involved with.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 will be released in UK cinemas on Friday, 20 December.