It’s been 21 years since Morpheus, perhaps the coolest man in cinema history, (Laurence Fishburne) appeared on our screens and presented us with the choice of a red or a blue pill, teaching us the importance of checking our medicine labels. Fast forward to 2020, we’ve discovered we’re about to delve deeper into the digital rabbit hole of the sci -fi masterpiece, ‘The Matrix’.
The fourth installment, which follows 2003’s “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” has officially been greenlit, with co-creator Lana Wachowski (formerly known as Larry) set to write, direct and produce the third sequel to the original sci-fi phenomenon. Keanu Reeves will be replugging his role as Neo, as will his leather catsuit wearing sidekick, Trinity. Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow pictures have announced that they will produce and globally distribute the film, this comes as no surprise considering that The Matrix and it’s two sequels, have collectively grossed more than $1.6 billion at the global box office.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with The MatriX universe, count yourself among the unfortunate ones. Surely, you wouldn’t have dodged the original film’s iconic trailer, in which a longline leather coat wearing Keanu Reeves throws himself backwards in an effort to dodge several bullets in slow motion, birthing the famous ‘bullet time’ effect. The Matrix trilogies are films of substantial vision. They’re iconic, influential, quotable and ground-breaking trilogies in cinema history, inspiring balletic style of action, parodies, video games, conspiracy theories, and even a myriad of copycats.
The film’s narrative follows Keanu Reeves character, Thomas Anderson aka Neo, office drone by day and computer hacker by night, who discovers his former reality is a simulation known as The Matrix.
Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss ride motorcycles on set of ‘The Matrix 4’ https://t.co/elzI0gmhbw pic.twitter.com/9TLzTP9ocu
— Page Six (@PageSix) February 18, 2020
Okay, stay with me on this one. The Matrix is a highly sophisticated computer simulation run by machine overlords who’ve enslaved humanity. Neo has been dubbed ‘the one’, the enlightened saviour, the digital messiah, the Kung Fu Jesus, you get it, and has been chosen to rescue humanity and is recruited by Morpheus to join ‘the real world’ and lead the war in the human resistance against the machine overlords. In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, Morpheus opens his palms to reveal two pills, reflected in his mirrored glasses, a red pill and a blue one.
Morpheus explains. “You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe,” Morpheus continues. “You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” We’ll take the red pill Morpheus and follow your adventures down the digital rabbit hole.
For those of you eager to re-enter the dystopian universe of The Matrix, plot details remain under wraps. Earlier this year, unofficial photos from the set of Matrix 4 have circulated the internet with many believing the rumours that the film was going to be a reboot or a remake of the original series.
Those rumours have since been debunked and it is now said that the film will be a continuation of the adventures in the dystopian universe. Production has also been halted due to the coronavirus pandemic and the film’s official release date has been pushed back to April 2, 2022. Few new high-profile cast members have been attached to the project in unidentifiable roles, amongst them, Priyanka Chopra and Patrick Neil Harris.
There is no mention of whether Morpheus and his fancy mirrored sunglasses will be re-entering the Matrix universe, however, there’s been unconfirmed rumours fuelling that the film’s narrative will focus on a young Morpheus with Abdul- Mateen II, being considered for the role. Unfortunately, Hugo Weaving will not be reprising his role as the villainous Agent Smith due to conflicting schedules. And only one of the Wachowski siblings will be re-entering the Matrix, Lana Wachowski, she’s remained tight lipped on the upcoming film but in a statement has said that “Many of the ideas [sister] Lilly [Wachowski] and I explored 20 years ago about our reality are even more relevant now,”
And perhaps for the biggest question of all, will the fourth installment finally introduce us to this pharmaceutical company that pumps out these red and blue pills?!
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