Ever since The Matrix was first released back in 1999, the franchise has evolved into one of the most popular movie series of all time. The original trilogy by writers/directors Lilly Wachowski and Lana Wachowski created a unique, immersive world populated by brilliant characters and sci-fi technology that pushed the limits of imagination. The first series of Matrix movies ended with 2003’s The Matrix Revolutions, which felt quite conclusive. Since then, fans have been curious to see what the future of the franchise could be, and now The Matrix 4 is set to deliver on those hopes.
Set in a world where sentient machines have overthrown humans and imprisoned them in a simulation called the Matrix, the original trilogy follows the adventures of a human with fantastical powers who fights to overthrow the Machines and save humanity.
The upcoming fourth movie is easily one of the most highly anticipated new films currently in the offing, featuring the return of beloved characters like Keanu Reeves’ Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss’s Trinity with Lana Wachowski directing solo. So we’ve put together everything we know about The Matrix 4 so far, from the plot and casting details to updates on filming and release dates.
Editor's Note: This article was most recently updated on August 26, 2021, to reflect the latest updates on The Matrix 4, including the official title, new trailer information, and why Lilly Wachowski opted not to return.
Has The Matrix 4 Trailer Been Released?
Details about The Matrix 4 are being kept closely under wraps and we’re yet to see any footage from the upcoming movie. But with the film set to arrive in December 2021, fans can expect a Matrix 4 trailer or teaser to be released soon. Watch this space to catch all the trailers when they become available.
During CinemaCon 2021, Warner Bros. presented the first look at the Matrix 4 trailer to press and distributors, offering the first plot details about the film. Here's the complete recap from The Hollywood Reporter:
"The trailer began with Thomas Anderson (Reeves) in therapy, telling his therapist (Neil Patrick Harris), “I had dreams that weren’t just dreams. Am I crazy?” He senses something is not quite right with the world, but he has no memory of what The Matrix is. Later, he runs into a woman (Moss) at a coffee shop. They shake hands, and there seems to be something between them, but neither one remembers the other. Meanwhile, Reeves’ Thomas spends his days taking prescription blue pills, and wondering why everyone in his world is glued to their phones — looking around and realizing he’s the only one on a crowded elevator not looking at a device.
Eventually, Reeves’ Thomas runs into a man (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who is reminiscent of Morpheus, the freedom fighter played by Laurence Fishburne in the original trilogy. This mysterious man hands Anderson a red pill, and soon we see footage of him with powers, seeing The Matrix for the fake reality that it is. The footage followed some similar beats of the original, including Neo (Reeves) fighting the Morpheus-like figure in a dojo, and an image of Anderson in an incubator. There’s also a shot of Neo looking in a mirror and seeing an older version of himself. Neo also seems to have a few new powers from the last time, with the trailer including a shot of what looks like him controlling a missile through telekinesis to prevent it from hitting him."
The folks over at i09 also saw the CinemaCon trailer and had this to say:
"You very much get the sense that everything that happened before with Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus is happening again, just with minor changes. Characters fated to live the same stories over and over again. Or... something like that. We don’t really know. But damned if it didn’t look as big and action-packed as we’ve come to expect."
What Is The Matrix 4's Title?
Just a few months before its release, The Matrix 4 finally has an official title: The Matrix: Resurrections. The title was finally revealed at CinemaCon in August 2021.
When Is The Matrix 4’s Release Date?
It was originally announced that the movie would premiere on May 21, 2021. However, this date had to be dropped because of the COVID-19 shutdown. It was then rescheduled for release on April 1, 2022.
Then in October 2020, the movie’s release date was moved up to December 2021, which now seems to be the confirmed date. So with any luck, The Matrix 4 will have its theatrical release just in time for Christmas, on December 22, 2021. Fans will also be able to catch the movie on HBO Max, where it will be available to stream for one month starting on December 22nd.
Who Is in The Matrix 4 Cast?
Some of the main cast members from the original Matrix trilogy are set to return for The Matrix 4. This includes Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, Lambert Wilson, and Daniel Bernhardt.
Hugo Weaving, who played the iconic Agent Smith, was initially approached for The Matrix 4 but he had to decline due to scheduling conflicts. Laurence Fishburne has also confirmed that he was not asked to return as main character Morpheus for the fourth film.
There are several new actors joining the franchise including Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Toby Onwumere, Max Riemelt, Eréndira Ibarra, Priyanka Chopra, Andrew Caldwell, Brian J. Smith, Ellen Hollman, and Christina Ricci. We’re yet to get official confirmation on what characters these actors will play but it has been rumored that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II may appear as a young Morpheus, taking over from Fishburne.
Who Are the Returning Characters in The Matrix 4?
Keanu Reeves will play Neo, the prophesied savior of both humanity and machines known as the One. Over the course of the first three movies, Neo has gone from computer programmer to freedom fighter to superhero. He’s at the very heart of the series and you just couldn’t have a movie in the franchise without him.
In his last appearance in The Matrix Revolutions, Neo sacrificed himself to defeat Agent Smith and broker a truce between the Machines and the remaining free humans. His body was taken by the Machines, which left the door open for his eventual return.
Carrie-Anne Moss will return as Trinity, a member of the human resistance against the Machines. Trinity and Neo were in a relationship in the original trilogy until her death in The Matrix Revolutions. It’s currently unknown how she will be brought back for the fourth film.
Jada Pinkett Smith plays Niobe, who first appeared as a supporting character in The Matrix Reloaded (2003). Niobe is a skilled pilot and martial artist who was once in love with Morpheus. Unlike many of the main characters, Niobe did not believe in the prophecy about the One but she does eventually come to put her faith in Neo by the third movie.
Lambert Wilson plays the Merovingian, one of the oldest programs within the Matrix. A cunning and cruel character, he describes himself as a trafficker of information and behaves more or less like a crime boss. He opposes the Oracle, another ancient program, and seeks to take her place within the system.
Daniel Bernhardt plays Agent Johnson, one of the Matrix’s many Agent programs, designed to protect the simulation. The character first appeared in The Matrix Reloaded.
When Is The Matrix 4 Filming?
The film began production on February 4, 2020, and continued until March 16 of the same year, when filming had to be halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Keanu Reeves confirmed on August 16, 2020, that filming had resumed and principal photography was completed on November 11, 2020.
Neil Patrick Harris, one of the new stars joining the franchise, has described Lana Wachowski’s directorial style as being more “intimate” than you would expect from such a big project.
“You would think that a giant movie would be 100% storyboarded, animatics, and we’d be checking off shots,” he told Variety. “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.”
John Wick director Chad Stahelski, who is also involved with the film, had previously revealed to Collider that Lana Wachowski prefers to direct her own action scenes.
“We’ve had second unit directors on some of the Matrixes just because of the logistics involved. But of late, and especially on Matrix 4, she’s directing her own action,” Stahelski said. “The second units for them are mostly establishing shots, the B-sides of the some of the compositions for some locations. But Lana, she does her own action. She weaves it into the main unit stuff, which is why their stuff looks so good."
Interestingly enough, the Wachowskis did not originally intend to continue the franchise after the third installment, though there were many rumors that a fourth film would be released. In fact, Lilly Wachowski had said in a 2015 interview that it was a "particularly repelling idea in these times."
In 2017, THR reported that a reboot was in the works with Zak Penn roped in to write a treatment. Penn later clarified that he did not intend to reboot the franchise but that he was interested in expanding on the existing works, but it appears his project did notmove forward.
The Matrix 4 wasn’t officially announced by Warner Bros. until August 20, 2019, confirming that Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss would return. It was also confirmed then that Lana Wachowski would be the sole director, and that she would co-write the script alongside David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon. The same writing team has previously worked together on Sense8.
When Is The Matrix 4 Set?
It’s currently unclear how the movie fits into the existing timeline of the franchise, only that it will be a sequel to the first trilogy. After the films, there have been multiple stories that expanded on the Matrix universe through comics, games, and animation.
One of these later adaptations, the MMORPG The Matrix Online, was a sequel to the movies and explored the consequences of Neo’s sacrifice in The Matrix Revolutions. Launched in 2005, the online video game generated mixed reviews and was eventually shut down in 2009.
The game was created with the blessings of the Wachowskis though they weren’t involved in its development. We don’t know if elements from the game’s story will be retained in The Matrix 4 but the new movie may be set a significant amount of time after the third film.
What Is The Matrix 4 Story?
Practically nothing has been revealed about The Matrix 4’s plot. However, the film’s story is expected to have something to do with Neo’s truce with the Machines.
One of the conditions that Neo had placed on the Machines was that all the humans who reject the Matrix are to be freed from the simulation. Not only would this allow humanity to regain some amount of freedom, but this would also help ensure that the Matrix can continue in its optimal state without having to reboot every century. The Matrix 4 may show the end of this truce and the beginning of a new Machine War.
Some rumors had previously made the rounds that the film would feature time-travel but these were debunked by Keanu Reeves. In an interview with The One Show, Reeves said that “There'll be no going back into the past.” He also described the movie as a “love story” and praised Lana Wachowski’s script.
"We have a wonderful director, Lana Wachowski, and she has written a beautiful script that is a love story,” Reeves said. “It's inspiring. It's another version of a kind of, call to wake up. It entertains... It has some great action. All will be revealed."
Why Didn't Lilly Wachowski Return for The Matrix 4?
During the Television Critics Association press tour panel for her Showtime series Work in Progress, Lilly Wachowski opened up about why she didn't want to return for another Matrix sequel at this point in her life. Wachowski, who co-wrote, co-produced, and co-directed the first three Matrix films, explained:
"There was something about the idea of going backward and being a part of something that I had done before that was expressly unappealing. And, like, I didn't want to have gone through my transition and gone through this massive upheaval in my life, the sense of loss from my mom and dad, to want to go back to something that I had done before and sort of walk over old paths that I had walked in. Felt emotionally unfulfilling, and really the opposite. Like I was going to go back and live in these old shoes, in a way, and I didn't want to do that."
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