You have before you two pills: one will return you to the comfortable illusion you once knew as existence, where you’ll continue to live in blissful ignorance. The other will drag you into reality, where the rest of us have just received news that a fourth Matrix film is real and happening. This is not a simulation.
The Wachowskis’ most popular creation will take on a new chapter at Warner Bros, according to an exclusive posted to Variety this afternoon. The most immediately striking detail of the production is that this will not be a sister-sister affair, as only Lana has signed on to write and direct the new film while Lilly sojourns into the wilds of TV.
But key cast members Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will indeed return to reprise their roles as chosen one Neo and his lethal ally Trinity, respectively. Other noteworthy personnel includes Wachowski’s co-writers on the new script, novelists Aleksandar Hemon (who wrote The Lazarus Project) and David Mitchell (who penned Cloud Atlas).
Production’s scheduled to get up and running at the start of 2020, which leaves fans already prone to conspiracy theorizing plenty of time to get wrapped up in their own theories. Will Neo continue to protect the remnants of humanity from the machines, or will he pass his legacy on to a new hero? What of Hugo Weaving‘s Agent Smith? And will the transgender subtext finally become regular-text?
At a time when everything seems to be fodder for rebooting, granting that treatment to a property with the intellectual meat to sustain another installment and doing so with the original talent all seems to be a good move. But lest we forget that they did indeed make two Matrix sequels, which were reviled by many and championed by a select few. A similar reception may not be far off.
Published 20 Aug 2019
By Al Horner
The Wachowskis’ 1999 action sci-fi changed blockbuster cinema, altering its code forever.
The appetite to hang out with Neo and the gang once more doesn’t appear to be that strong.
Findings from a rare public screening of John Dexter’s I Want What I Want.
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