Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne Moss are re-entering the virtual world of The Matrix.
Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich announced on Monday that Reeves and Moss are reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively, in an all-new The Matrix movie that Lana Wachowski will write, direct and produce.
Get ready to re-enter the Matrix https://t.co/PtAZKfy0lu
— Variety (@Variety) August 20, 2019
“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.”
Emmerich added: “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.”
Lana co-directed and co-written the first three The Matrix films with her sister Lilly, but it appears that the latter won’t be involved in the fourth installment of the sci-fi action franchise. While Lana will be the sole director of the new movie, she is getting help from Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell on writing the screenplay.
The original Matrix trilogy — The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) — was produced by Joel Silver, but his name was not included in the announcement of the new film. Instead, Lara is producing the new Matrix movie with Grant Hill. Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures will both produce the movie and distribute it globally.
Plot details are being kept under wraps, but some sources told Variety that the role of Morpheus —originally played by Laurence Fishburne — may be recast for a younger take. No release date has been set yet but people with knowledge about the project said that Matrix 4 will begin production early next year.
Rumors about Matrix 4 have been practically swirling since the release of the franchise’s third installment. However, a hold-up over producing rights slowed the project down. But after Reeves’ John Wick 3 performed very well at the box office, Warner Bros. Pictures saw an opportunity to hasten the development of the next The Matrix movie.
The Matrix trilogy has grossed more than $1.6 billion at the global box office. Each installment was also Top 10 domestic hits in their year of release. The first installment of the film series turned 20 years old earlier this year, and to celebrate that milestone, special 20th anniversary screenings of The Matrix will be held at select AMC Theatres locations across the U.S. starting August 30th.