For years, it was reported that Warner Bros. was desperate to figure out a way to continue the ‘Matrix’ franchise. And eventually, it was announced the studio was able to snag one Wachowski, Lana to be specific, to write and direct the fourth film in the sci-fi film series. But outside of Lana Wachowski’s involvement and a cast that includes Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Ann Moss, and others, not a lot is known about “The Matrix 4.” Well, one cast member, Neil Patrick Harris, isn’t going to spill any tea about plot, but in a new Variety interview, he does talk about one major difference between the first three films and the latest sequel — Lana Wachowski’s production style.
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Speaking to Variety, Harris described the rather chill atmosphere that was felt during the filming of “The Matrix 4.” And a large part of that new, relaxed attitude stems from Lana Wachowski and her apparent desire to want to change how things were done from the previous films.
“It didn’t feel large because it felt like she was in her sweet spot, which was filming on the fly, filming using natural light,” said Harris. “Sometimes you’d sit around for an hour waiting for the clouds to clear, and then you’d quickly film. You’d film pages at a time in 30 minutes and then be done.”
He added, “You would think that a giant movie would be 100% storyboarded, animatics, and we’d be checking off shots. I think she lived that before three times over, and I would suspect that she wants to do things her own way now. It wasn’t often that you felt that you were doing something gigantic because she made it feel very intimate.”
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It’s unclear how this new process is going to relate to the finished product. Again, we know next to nothing about “The Matrix 4.” But 20 years ago, when the original trilogy was in production, there were stories about how difficult it was and how grueling the back-to-back shooting schedule of the sequels was for the stars. So, if nothing else, it does seem as if “The Matrix 4” was a much more calm set than what you would normally see on a $200 million franchise blockbuster film.
As of now, “The Matrix 4” is set to hit theaters (and HBO Max) on December 22, 2021.