Are you ready to go back down the rabbit hole? If so, Warner Bros. is ready to take you back into the world of the Matrix with some new films centered around the Matrix universe.
The Hollywood Reporter has the details:
It’s still not clear what shape the project will take, but sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros. is in the early stages of developing a relaunch of The Matrix, the iconic 1999 sci-fi movie that is considered one of the most original films in cinematic history, with Zak Penn in talks to write a treatment.
Sources say there is potential interest in Michael B. Jordan to star, but much must be done before the project is ready to go.
At this point, the Wachowski siblings, who wrote and directed the original and its two sequels, are not involved and the nature of their potential engagement with a new version has not been determined. Certainly, Warners would want the two filmmakers to give at minimum a blessing to the nascent project.
While promoting John Wick Chapter Two, Reeves said he would be open to returning for another installment of the franchise if the Wachowskis were involved. “They would have to write it and direct it. And then we’d see what the story is, but yeah, I dunno, that’d be weird, but why not?” he said. However, it is likely that Warners will look elsewhere to attract an A-list director and star.
The idea of adapting Matrix as a television series was nixed in recent months. But Warners see a model in what Disney and Lucasfilm have done with Star Wars, exploring the hidden corners of the universe with movies such as Rogue One or the in-production young Han Solo film. Perhaps a young Morpheus movie could come out of the exploration, as an example.
Penn is a writer with deep roots in the geeky genres in which Matrix travels. He created the Syfy network’s super-powered show Alphas and has been involved in comic book movies ranging from the X-Men franchise to The Avengers.
It’s not clear what this re-envisioning of the Matrix story will be, but what could work well is Michael B. Jordan cast as a young Morpheus. The story of who Morpheus is and how he started his journey to find “The One”, is a story I would be interested in seeing.