One of the early elements reported on Lana Wachowski’s “The Matrix Resurrections” was that the film would see an actor play a “Morpheus-type role” in the fourth installment and when Warner Bros. cast Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (“Watchmen,” ‘Aquaman,” “Candyman”) in the role, it felt like he ultimately was replacing Lawrence Fishburne.
READ MORE: Lilly Wachowski Found The Idea Of Returning To Direct ‘Matrix 4’ “Expressly Unappealing”
The trailer was released yesterday, and it’s hard to convince yourself after watching it that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is playing someone that just happens to look/sound like Morpheus.
An Instagram post from the actor with the caption “MORPHEUS” doesn’t leave a lot to the imagination about his upcoming role in “Resurrections.”
There are expectations that the roles held by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jessica Henwick (“Knives Out 2,” “Iron Fist,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens“) are going to be the next-gen leads for potential follow-ups as it was rumored that Henwick is playing a new incarnation of “The One.”
READ MORE: Laurence Fisherburns Explains Matrix 4 Absence: “I Have Not Been Invited”
It’s not hard to imagine that the reason Warner Bros. wants a fourth installment was to re-energize the franchise for a new trilogy and beyond. Hard to believe this will be a one-off, but making movies one at a time could be a good way to avoid repeating sequels like “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” that certainly dipped in quality between installments.
Interestingly enough, the official synopsis from Warner Bros. only cites the new film as a “continuation and extension” of “The Matrix” without mentioning the trilogy or even referring to the sequels.
“‘The Matrix Resurrections’ is a continuation of the story established in the first MATRIX film. It reunites Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss as cinematic icons Neo & Trinity in an expansion of their story that ventures back into the Matrix and even deeper down the rabbit hole. A mind-bending new adventure with action and epic scale, it’s set in a familiar yet even more provocative world where reality is more subjective than ever, and all that’s required to see the truth is to free your mind.“
“20 years after the first film, the franchise that helped define pop culture at the turn of the century is back for a continuation and extension of the original movie. The Matrix remains in the zeitgeist as a film that has changed the way we look at cinema and reality itself. With its game-changing action and visual effects, The Matrix helped pave the way for films to follow.“
READ MORE: Hugo Weaving Is “Befuddled” By The “Shallow Reading” Of ‘The Matrix’ By Alt-Right Groups
“The Matrix Resurrections” will hit both theaters and HBO Max on December 22nd.
