In April 2024, we first learned that The Cabin in the Woods and Bad Times at the El Royale filmmaker Drew Goddard had signed up to helm a new Matrix movie for Warner Bros.
Rumours of a reboot or spin-off have persisted for years, and while we're still in the dark about which category this one will fall into, the hope is that it ultimately marks a return to form for the franchise.
The Matrix was released in 1999 to widespread acclaim, with The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions following in 2003. They didn't receive as warm a response as the original, and Lana returned to the property (minus Lilly) in 2021 for The Matrix Resurrections.
That similarly struggled to strike a chord with fans and was widely considered a disappointment, grossing $160 million against a reported $190 million budget. Still, the sci-fi franchise remains valuable to Warner Bros., and the potential is there for a back-to-basics movie that restores The Matrix to its former glory.
Goddard recently spoke with ScreenRant (via SFFGazette.com), and confirmed that the fifth instalment is "still in the works. I'm in my writing cave writing. I don't know how long I'll be in that writing cave, but whenever I come out, I'll have news to share."
Last summer, rumours swirled that, after past rumblings of a reboot starring Michael B. Jordan, the plan was to bring Keanu Reeves back into the fold. Fans aren't exactly crying out for a reboot, so continuing the story with a familiar lead and new approach might be what's needed to help make the franchise relevant again.
When we last saw Neo, he and Trinity were reshaping The Matrix together. That could make him a God-like being in Goddard's apparent follow-up.
During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, The Matrix Resurrections star Jessica Henwick was asked about scrapped plans for a Bugs spin-off series that was being discussed for HBO Max around the time the movie was released.
"Yeah, there’s always these rumours about my character, but I don’t know where that came from. No one spoke to me about it. I know that Drew Goddard was developing a film," she said. "I’ve not heard anything in years. I don’t know if [Drew's movie is] still happening."
"I’d love to read it. I have asked my agents to send it to me when it starts floating around. But I didn’t hear anything about a TV series. I don’t know if they’re planning that at all," she added.
The Matrix franchise centres on a dystopian future in which sentient machines control humanity in a simulated reality called the Matrix to harvest their bioelectricity. The protagonist, Neo, discovers his reality is a simulation and joins a rebellion against the machines.
Hopefully, we'll have more details to share on Goddard's plans soon.