You feel that? Its the internet exploding in a 100 teraton blast of pure nerd rage.Get ready to re-enter the Matrix.
Lana Wachowski is set to write and direct a fourth film set in the world of “The Matrix,” with Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively.
Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures will produce and globally distribute the film. Warner Bros. Picture Group chairman Toby Emmerich made the announcement on Tuesday.
“We could not be more excited to be re-entering ‘The Matrix’ with Lana,” said Emmerich. “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.”
In addition to Wachowski, the script was also written by Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell. Wachowski is also producing with Grant Hill. Sources say the film is eyed to begin production at the top of 2020.
Warner Bros. has been trying for the last of couple years to find a way to get back into “The Matrix” universe, but a hold-up over producing rights slowed the project down. Over the past couple of months, the studio saw an opportunity to ramp up development, with Reeves boasting a strong summer that included box office hits “John Wick 3” and “Toy Story 4″ and a script from Wachowski that drummed up excitement.
Plot details are currently unknown, as is how the role of Morpheus will be handled, originally played by Laurence Fishburne. Some sources say the role may be recast for a younger take.
The three previous films —“The Matrix,” “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” — have collectively earned more than $1.6 billion at the global box office. All three were written and directed by Lana and her sister, Lilly, and starred Reeves and Moss.
“Many of the ideas Lilly and I explored 20 years ago about our reality are even more relevant now. I’m very happy to have these characters back in my life and grateful for another chance to work with my brilliant friends,” Wachowski said.
Now, as I've probably made clear, I am NOT a part of the knee-jerk "sequels suck" crowd. Heck, I don't even particularly dislike the later Matrix films. But I'm kind of baffled by how this is going to work. Because last I checked, Neo was dead/maybe one with the Matrix, and Trinity was dead by impalement. And the actors are kind of old for a prequel, though I suppose a reboot is possible, especially if they're talking about a younger Morpheus (I can't think why else they would- its not like Fishburne is deceased or something- I actually Googled it after reading this just in case I'd somehow missed the news of his passing). But there's not really any plot information yet.
There's also the issue with the Matrix having gotten some flack years ago for supposedly "inspiring" the Columbine shootings, so with gun violence still a headline issue and the Republican White Supremacist Party desperately looking for scapegoats other than white supremacy or guns, this film's not going to be emerging into the most welcoming political environment, either. Though it might actually find a more welcoming audience from the Left in the current environment as a result.
It could work. I hope it works. But it still seems like an odd choice to bring back right now.
That said, the Matrix sequels' pop culture status as Worst Sequels Ever That Aren't Star Wars Movies is kind of inflated. Both films turned a handsome profit at the box office, and while the third films' is much lower, the second has a score of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. So the perception that the films were widely unpopular is probably just another case of trolling by a vocal minority dominating the discussion, plus the fact that the first one set such a high bar for them to live up to.
