Warner Brothers has announced that they are moving forward with a fifth Matrix film. The project was conceived and pitched to the studio by writer/director Drew Goddard, who was then hired to develop this new take on the iconic science-fiction franchise. Lana Wachowski, who co-created the Matrix franchise with her sister Lily Wachowski, will serve as Executive Producer of this new installment.
No other details about the project were included in the announcement released by the studio this afternoon. So, it is not known if any of the original Matrix stars such as Keanu Reeves or Carrie-Anne Moss are returning, if their characters are involved in the new story and wil be cast, what the story will be about or even when the studio hopes to release the movie into the theaters.
The original Matrix film debuted in 1999, a heady mix of cyberpunk storytelling ideas and Hong Kong wuxia film action with groundbreaking visuals and a dash of philosophy. The film was a runaway hit and scored four Academy Award nominations – Best Film Editing, Sound, Sound Editing and Visual Effects – winning all four categories. Warner Brothers ordered up two sequels – The Matrix: Reloaded and The Matrix: Revolutions – which seemingly closed out the story of Reeves’s hero Neo. Lana Wachowski returned to the franchise in 2021 for The Matrix: Resurrections.
It is understandable if there is some resistance to the idea of Matrix film without the Wachowski’s direct creative involvement. The original trilogy can be read as a very personal story from the Wachowskis, and indeed, over the years since the films’ initial releases, they have been viewed that way only more so. When Lana Wachowski returned to the franchise for The Matrix: Resurrections, she brought with her a story that was slyly critical of the subgenre of stylistic action blockbuster filmmaking that the original Matrix films spawned. But Goddard has proven to have an intuitive understanding of the past genre projects that he was involved with including Buffy The Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel, Alias and Lost before going on to create Netflix’s Daredevil. His involvement could be an energetic push to move the franchise into a new place.
Via Hollywood Reporter.
