Warner Bros. is bringing back the Matrix for a fifth installment, this time with a new director at the helm. Sci-fi screenwriter Drew Goddard (“The Martian”) will write, direct, and produce the film alongside his partner Sarah Esberg. Plot specifics are under wraps, but the studio promises the story will expand the Matrix universe while staying true to its core elements.
Matrix 5: The End?
The movie is said to mark the end for the franchise, being the first without Lana or Lilly Wachowski in the director’s chairs. However, Lana Wachowski remains involved as an executive producer, ensuring a connection to the series’ DNA.
Casting details are yet to be revealed. It is also unclear if familiar faces like Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, who played Neo and Trinity in previous films, will return. The newest cast members from “The Matrix Resurrections” – Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas – are also questionable for the new film.
“We believe Goddard’s idea would be an incredible way to conclude the Matrix world,” said Warner Bros. production head Jesse Ehrman. It supposedly honours to the idea that Lana and Lilly initially began with while Goddard offers a fresh new perspective to the franchise.
Goddard, an Oscar nominee for “The Martian,” brings a strong sci-fi background to the project. He also wrote “Cloverfield” and “World War Z,” and directed films like “The Cabin in the Woods” and “Bad Times at the El Royale.” “The Matrix films changed cinema and my life,” said Goddard. He expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to the Wachowski sisters’ world.
The original 1999 “Matrix” is considered a landmark science fiction film, spawning three sequels: “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” in 2003, and “The Matrix Resurrections” in 2021. The most recent installment, directed solely by Lana Wachowski after an 18-year gap, underperformed at the box office, likely due to its simultaneous release on HBO Max.
In addition to the films, the Matrix franchise also includes an animated series of nine short stories that occur at various points in the Matrix timeline.
