Warner Bros. announced the official synopsis for the long-awaited The Matrix: Resurrections.
Posted on the Warner Bros. awards website, the synopsis for the upcoming sci-fi movie reads, "In a world of two realities—everyday life and what lies behind it—Thomas Anderson will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more. Choice, while an illusion, is still the only way in or out of the Matrix, which is stronger, more secure and more dangerous than ever before." The description doesn't give away much but does suggest that Neo will be pushed to his limits by an enemy of unknowable power.
The Matrix: Resurrections is the fourth mainline film in the franchise, taking place after the events of The Matrix Revolutions. Keanu Reeves reprises his role as Thomas Anderson/Neo while franchise alumni Carrie-Anne Moss and Jada Pinkett Smith are returning as Trinity and Niobe respectively. Much to the disappointment of some fans, Laurence Fishburne will not play Morpheus in the latest film. When asked why he would not be appearing in the movie, Fishburn said, "You'd have to ask [Matrix 4 director] Lana Wachowski why because I don't have an answer for that." Franchise newcomer Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will play the bespectacled role in Fishburne's stead.
When asked what inspired her to create The Matrix: Resurrections, Lana Wachowski explained that the deaths of her parents and a close friend pushed her to develop the latest installment in the series. "My dad died, then this friend died, then my mom died. I didn't really know how to process that kind of grief. I hadn't experienced it that closely... You know their lives are going to end and yet it was still really hard," she explained. "... I couldn't have my mom or dad, yet suddenly I had Neo and Trinity, arguably the two most important characters in my life. It was immediately comforting... You can look at it and say: 'Okay, these two people died and okay, bring these two people back to life and oh, doesn't that feel good,'" concluded the director.
Lana Wachowski isn't a stranger to The Matrix, having co-directed the original trilogy with her sibling Lilly. When asked why she would not be returning for Resurrections, Lilly Wachowski said that after shooting Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Ascending and Sense8, the acclaimed filmmaker needed a well-deserved break from the industry. "I needed to reconnect with myself as an artist and I did that by going back to school and painting and stuff," said Lilly Wachowski.
The Matrix: Resurrections releases in theatres and HBO Max on Dec. 22.
Source: Warner Bros.