It makes no sense whatsoever for something to be both totally predictable and completely surprising, but leave it to the convoluted Matrix franchise to pull it off.
As multiple outlets, including Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, have reported, a fifth Matrix movie is officially in the works.
On the one hand, this is completely predictable because Hollywood is creatively bankrupt and everything has to be a sequel, part of a franchise or part of some “cinematic universe.”
A fifth Matrix movie would check pretty much every one of those boxes.
On the other hand, the fourth Matrix movie, 2021’s “The Matrix Resurrections” was such a colossal failure, it’s actually surprising Warner Bros. Discovery (the owner of the franchise) is so swiftly returning to a potentially poisoned well.
According to Forbes, the fourth Matrix movie finished its theatrical run making just $157.3 million dollars — a figure that’s both a franchise-worst and well shy of its $190 million budget.
Now, in fairness to the box office returns of “Resurrections,” the film did suffer from a simultaneous release in theaters and on the streaming platform then-known as HBO Max.
But even without that boneheaded relic of the pandemic movie release schedule, “The Matrix Resurrections” didn’t exactly light up the critics either.
The film has a middling 5.7/10 rating on IMDb and rare Rotten Tomatoes critic-user synchronicity with both review scores sitting at a flat 63 percent.
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So yes, it’s both a surprise and not a surprise at all that a fifth Matrix movie was officially announced, but it’s worth noting that there will be at least one key difference between the fifth Matrix movie and all of its predecessors: Neither Wachowski sibling will be involved with the film.
The Wachowskis (two brothers who identify as women) have been involved with the franchise since its inception in 1999 with the original “The Matrix” film that became a massive smash hit. Lana and Lilly Wachowski were formerly known as Larry and Andy, respectively.
Both Wachowskis worked on “The Matrix,” “The Matrix Reloaded,” and “The Matrix Revolutions.” Only the elder Wachowski (Lana/Larry) was involved in the poorly received fourth movie.
While the elder Wachowski is still a part of this still-unnamed fifth Matrix movie, the role will simply be as an executive producer.
In their place, screenwriter Drew Goddard will helm the film, and it is his excitement about the franchise that helped convince Warner Bros. to give their damaged franchise another go.
Warner Bros. Motion Pictures president of production Jesse Ehrman revealed as much in his accompanying statement.
“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 honoring what Lana and Lilly began over 25 years ago and offering a unique perspective based on his own love of the series and characters,” Ehrman said, per Variety. “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.”
Of concern, it’s not yet clear whom — if any — of the core cast of characters will return, and that includes Neo, the main protagonist played by Keanu Reeves.
The original 1999 “The Matrix” film is easily one of the most influential sci-fi films ever made and a genuine tour de force of cinematic originality. The two immediate sequels (“Reloaded” and “Revolutions,” which both came out in 2003) both buckled under an infatuation with heavy CGI and an insistence on asking more questions than answering them.
