The announcement of a fourth Matrix movie came so suddenly that it’s hard to believe it’s really happening. Now titled The Matrix: Resurrections, many are no doubt wondering why the franchise is being brought back after all this time, and now star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has teased the surprise sequel’s “new perspective,” comparing The Matrix 4 to his most recent venture Candyman.
“It’s not very different. They both are classics that people love. They come with high expectations of excellence, and audiences cannot, cannot wait to see them. And it’s nice to be a part of that. Of course, they also come with the opportunity to, to add your own spin to moments and characters. And we’re looking forward to doing that with the Matrix in the same way that we did it with Candyman. It’s all an opportunity to tell new fresh stories and to change the narrative and to add a new perspective on it.”
Thanks to The Matrix 4 footage shown at the CinemaCon, we now have a much better idea of what this “new perspective” entails. Debuting a trailer for the aptly named The Matrix Resurrections, the footage reintroduces audiences to Neo, played once again by Keanu Reeves. Back in the simulated world of The Matrix, Neo now goes by Thomas, and is describing his dreams to a therapist, played by Neil Patrick Harris. Am I crazy?”, he asks Harris’ character.
Neo then runs into Trinity, a role reprised by Carrie-Anne Moss, and while they do not recognize each other, they know there is some sort of connection between them. This is when Yahya Abdul-Mateen II appears, and while details of his character remain a mystery, the footage further hints at the actor playing a younger version of Laurence Fishburne’s character, Morpheus.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was asked whether he is “playing a new character, or a version of somebody that we already know in The Matrix?” to which he slyly replied, “In “The Matrix?” Yeah, I think you’re breaking up a little bit. All of a sudden, I can’t hear you so well.” Rumors have circulated for some time claiming that Abdul-Mateen II will play a “younger version of Morpheus in the film” and more specifically “a digital version of that character.”
What we do know is that Abdul-Mateen will be putting Keanu Reeves as The One through his paces again, similarly to the very first The Matrix. Indeed, the footage teases more dojo fight scenes between the pair before showing Neo stopping bullets and even a missile with his mind.
The Matrix Resurrections is a joint production by Village Roadshow Pictures, Wachowskis Productions and Silver Pictures and is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures theatrically on December 22, 2021. It will also stream digitally on HBO Max in the United States for a month beginning on that same date.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II can currently be seen in director Nia DaCosta’s Candyman, which picks up thirty years after the events of the first movie and stars Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and Colman Domingo. Vanessa Williams, Tony Todd, and Virginia Madsen who reprise their roles from the 1992 original. This comes to us courtesy of Variety.