KEANU REEVES AND THE MATRIX 4
Will Lana Wachowski Return The Magic?
On March 31, 1999, The Matrix opened wide. The world watched Keanu Reeves’ Neo take the red pill, learn kung fu in like a second, and generally kick ass. He even dodged bullets. The super slowed CG thing (Bullet Time™) was seemingly in every action film, by law, for years to come.
The influence of this release went far beyond the big screen. The Wachowski Sibs threw down the gauntlet. They took all the cool shit they were into (comics, cyberpunk books, martial arts movies, and anime, anime, anime!) and melted minds. Do you want fashion? Smack! Do you like philosophy? Pow! Do you want fun? Bam! Do you want to question your problematic relationship with technology? You don’t? Too bad, you will!
All kidding aside, The Matrix holds up. It currently sits comfortably at 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Matrix Reloaded still holds a decent 73%. Sadly, The Matrix Revolutions is rotten at 35%.
Can The Matrix 4 recapture the original magic and thrill us? All the components are there. Lana Wachowski will return to the helm. This time without her sister Lilly who has been busy with Showtime’s Work in Progress. No need to be concerned; Lana’s got this. WB is stoked. Executive Toby Emmerich said, “We could not be more excited to be re-entering The Matrix with Lana. Lana is a true visionary — a singular and original creative filmmaker — and we are thrilled that she is writing, directing, and producing this new chapter in ‘The Matrix’ universe.” Neil Patrick-Harris said she was in her “sweet spot” on set.
David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon joined Wachowski for writing duties. They also worked on Netflix’s Sense8 with her. It is one solid team.
However, there are some casting surprises. Sadly, Hugo Weaving will not return to his role as Agent Smith, and Laurence Fishburne won’t be back as Morpheus. Weaving had scheduling conflicts. Fishburne has said he doesn’t know why he wasn’t asked. But, familiar faces like Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Daniel Bernhardt, and Lambert Wilson are back.
Actors new to the Matrix include Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman), Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick (Game of Thrones), Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter), Priyanka Chopra (Quantico), and Christina Ricci.
Other than talent, there is very little known. So did we all take a blue pill? On December 22, The Matrix 4 will be released in theaters and on HBO Max. We can hardly wait!
