Despite the underperformance of the fourth movie in the ‘The Matrix’ franchise, Warner Bros. has decided to go ahead with a fifth movie, signalling the continuation of the cyberpunk media franchise.
The studio announced on April 3 (local time) that an untitled ‘Matrix 5’ is currently in the works, but will not be helmed by Lily or Lana Wachowski, who have previously directed all the first three movies, with the latter solely directing the fourth one.
Instead, Oscar nominee screenwriter for the ‘The Martian,’ Drew Goddard, will be taking over the director’s duties from the Wachowskis. He has also served as writer-director on ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ and ‘Bad Times at the El Royale.’
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In addition to directing, he will also be penning the script and producing the film with his partner at Goddard Textiles, Sarah Esberg. Lana Wachowski will be attached to the movie as an executive producer.
As of now, it’s not known who from the previous film will be reprising their roles. Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss have portrayed Neo and Trinity in all prior films, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas joining in the latest installment. But fans are keeping their hopes high for Reeves’ return.
Even the plot details have been heavily kept under wraps. But Warner Bros. Motion Pictures President of Production, Jesse Ehrman, did give a hint of how the story would take place, by stating that the film will only advance the fantasy world while staying true to the elements that contributed to the franchise’s success.
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Ehrman also added, “Drew came to Warner Bros. with a new idea that we all believe would be an incredible way to continue the Matrix world, by both honouring what Lana and Lilly began over 25 years ago and offering a unique perspective based on his own love of the series and characters. The entire team at Warner Bros. Discovery is thrilled for Drew to be making this new Matrix film, adding his vision to the cinematic canon the Wachowskis’ spent a quarter of a century building here at the studio.”
‘The Matrix,’ which launched the franchise in 1999, is widely regarded as one of the most influential science-fiction films ever made. It inspired three sequels, ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ and ‘The Matrix Revolutions,’ both of which released in 2003, and then after an 18-year-gap came 2021’s ‘The Matrix Resurrections,’ which didn’t perform well. All the four movies have collectively earned $1795.5 million at the global box office.
More details regarding the upcoming film would be announced soon.
