After almost twenty years, a new "Matrix" movie is finally coming to theaters
and set to blow us all away. Who's back from the original
films and who's set to join the cast as new faces? Are you beginning to believe?
When the news of a fourth "Matrix" movie broke in Variety in August 2019,
producer and distributor Warner Bros. didn't announce a release date for the film.
It did say that production was scheduled to begin sometime in early 2020.
In December of 2019, Warner Bros. announced a "Matrix 4" release date of May 21, 2021.
Unlike "The Matrix" and "The Matrix Reloaded," which hit theaters in late March 1999
and mid-May 2003, respectively," the fourth "Matrix" won't see a spring release, or even
an autumn one like "The Matrix Revolutions," which made its way to theaters in November 2003.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, filming on "The Matrix Resurrections" was paused in March 2020
over coronavirus spread concerns, and Warner Bros, accounted for that delay by pushing the
scheduled release to April 2022. About six months later, with production picking up, Warner moved up
the release date to December 22, 2021. The same day "The Matrix Resurrections" hits theaters,
it'll also be available to stream for subscribers of HBO Max for a limited time.
"I want it! Come on, gimme it. Gimme it. Come on, give me it."
The special effects might have felt like the real stars of "The Matrix" and its sequels, but those
films wouldn't have been nearly as good or as memorable if the human actors hadn't pulled their
weight. Keanu Reeves proved his action hero turn in "Speed" wasn't a fluke with his role as Neo.
Carrie-Anne Moss, at the time of the release of "The Matrix" in 1999, was a little-known talent
with a bunch of episodic television credits to her name, but "The Matrix" made her a star.
Reeves and Moss quickly locked in their commitment to return to play Neo and Trinity.
One actor who definitely won't be back: Hugo Weaving. Due to a scheduling conflict,
he's not available to reprise his role as the villainous Agent Smith. Lots of other big
names played central roles in the "Matrix" trilogy, like Laurence Fishburne and Jada
Pinkett-Smith. Fishburne won't reprise his role, but Pinkett-Smith will, along with Lambert Wilson,
who played the Merovingian and Daniel Bernhardt, who played Agent Johnson.
In October 2019, the cast of "The Matrix Resurrections" started to take shape. Neil
Patrick Harris landed a role that the film's trailer indicated was a therapist of some sort.
Harris is primarily a TV performer, best known for his work on "How I Met Your Mother"
and "Doogie Howser, M.D.," and "The Matrix Resurrections" will mark his biggest movie yet.
Writer/director/producer Lana Wachowski saw several actors for another secret part in
"The Matrix Resurrections," later revealed to be a character called Morpheus. The original
Morpheus was made famous by Laurence Fishburne in the original "Matrix" trilogy." The right man to
possibly replace Fishburne for the job: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, a rising star thanks to his
scene-stealing performance in "The Get Down" and his work in HBO's "Watchmen" miniseries.
Another new member of the Matrix family: Priyanka Chopra. According to Variety in January 2020, the
"Quantico" star underwent fight training for weeks in anticipation of the film beginning production.
In 2021, a Korean "Matrix Resurrection" poster divulged that Chopra is playing the adult version
of Sati, the child that the Oracle was taking care of in 2003's "The Matrix Revolutions."
Fans speculate that Sati may be the new Oracle in "The Matrix Resurrections,"
but we still don't know for sure. Brian J. Smith and Erendira Ibarra, best known for their work
on the Wachowskis' Netflix series "Sense8," will also appear in "The Matrix Resurrections,"
as will Jessica Henwick, Christina Ricci, Jonathan Groff, and Telma Hopkins.
Would it really be a "Matrix" movie if Lana and Lily Wachowski weren't involved?
After turning heads with the stylish 1996 crime drama "Bound," the Wachowskis made
themselves legends with "The Matrix" in 1999, unveiling a novel premise set in a marvelously
realized universe. The siblings co-wrote and co-directed "The Matrix," "The Matrix Reloaded,"
and "The Matrix Revolutions," but the reports announcing "The Matrix Resurrections" don't note
the involvement of Lily Wachowski — Lana Wachowski is evidently going solo this time around.
Wachowski won't have to go it totally alone, however — she'll direct from a
script co-written with literary figure Aleksander Hemon and David Mitchell,
who both wrote an episode of the Wachowskis' "Sense8" while Mitchell wrote "Cloud Atlas,"
turned into a film by the Wachowskis in 2012. John Toll, meanwhile, will handle the
cinematography. He previously shot "Jupiter Ascending" and "Cloud Atlas" for Wachowski,
and won Academy Awards for his work on "Legends of the Fall" and "Braveheart."
Prominently and suspiciously not mentioned anywhere in Variety's August 2019 report
about the launch of a then-untitled fourth movie in "The Matrix" series
was the key character known as Morpheus. Nobody said anything about whether the mentor figure
would return for the new movie or not, nor was there any mention of the involvement of
Laurence Fishburne, the actor who played the part in the original three movies.
Not to worry, says Variety reporter Justin Kroll.
Shortly after he published his story about "The Matrix 4," he tweeted,
"[S]ources have told me this may point to where and when the film
is set as I've heard execs are looking a variety of actors to possibly play [him]"
And that's about all we know about the plot. The fact that Morpheus looks to be played
by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II suggests "The Matrix Resurrections" takes place in a different time
than the original trilogy. Morpheus was killed off in the Matrix: Online,
an MMORPG that continued the story from the original trilogy, but whether the game's
events are still considered canon is unknown. Perhaps Mateen II is playing a digital version
of Morpheus based on a younger mind? Or is Mateen II's character simply inspired by Morpheus?
"What do you think is happening right now?"
"It doesn't matter."
"It's good."
"We'll sort this out later, it doesn't matter right now."
The news of the new "Matrix" movie with most of the original cast and creators
means that a different "Matrix"-based product is likely no longer happening.
In March 2017, The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Warner Bros. had started preliminary
development of a reboot/relaunch of "The Matrix." Screenwriter Zak Penn, who wrote "X-Men: The Last
Stand" and "Ready Player One," was reportedly in talks to write a detailed narrative plot outline,
all because original "Matrix" producer Joel Silver approached Warner Bros. with the suggestion of a
revival. The Wachowskis were not involved with that project, and no actors signed up to star,
although initial reports hinted that Warner Bros. would've liked to cast Michael B.
Jordan. As Lana Wachowski, Keanu Reeves, and Carrie-Anne Moss all reunited to make "The
Matrix Resurrections," this other new "Matrix" is now old news. Perhaps that's for the best.
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