Keanu Reeves may have recently jumped back into the virtual world as Neo in The Matrix Resurrections, but that almost wasn’t the case. After the 2003 science fiction movie The Matrix Revolutions, the John Wick actor was ready to leave the franchise behind. However, one condition made Reeves change his mind and agree to do The Matrix 4 – Lana Wachowski.
Wachowski, who directed and wrote the first three Matrix movies with her sister Lily was the condition that Reeves had if Warner Bros wanted to resurrect Neo for the big screen. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, the actor revealed that Wachowski’s script changed his mind on joining the film after rejecting agents and other Matrix scripts for years. “For me, I had a hesitancy in being involved in something that wasn’t signed off by the Wachowskis,” the star said. “So I was grateful and thrilled when Lana gave me a call.”
The star then described how Wachowski’s new instalment to the beloved franchise impressed him and made him excited to sign onto the production. In his explanation of his decision to return to the Matrix, Reeves mentions how Wachowski’s loss of her parents and her ongoing dedication to the franchise made the script “special”.
“It was all about the love story,” Reeves said. “[Lana’s] desire to bring Neo and Trinity [Carrie-Anne Moss] together again, and the feeling that it could be good medicine for her, for the story, and, potentially, for the audience,” the star continued. “I think Resurrections is a special film. I think it’s funny; I think the ideas are thought-provoking, inspiring, challenging. I think it can make you laugh, it can make you cry, the characters are great, and I think the spectacle of it is amazing.”
Our Anthony McGlynn agreed with Reeves sentiments on The Matrix Resurrections in his review for the film. “Self-aware, candid, and drawing from each previous Matrix movie, this sequel is an affirmation of what the franchise means to one of its creators,” he writes, as well as adding that the new action movie is a “worthy sequel from one of our best sci-fi filmmakers.”
Ultimately we here at The Digital Fix were happy to see Reeves back in The Matrix again and that Wachowski helmed a new sci-fi epic. The Matrix Resurrections is out in cinemas now and available to watch on the streaming service HBO Max for all our US readers.