There appeared to be a lot of excitement for The Matrix Resurrections prior to its release. Trailers generated a lot of positive buzz on social media ("Look, Keanu Reeves has a rubber duck on his head!") and early reactions from critics were glowing. However, reviews themselves were mixed, and the movie from filmmaker Lana Wachowski ultimately flopped hard at the box office.
Spider-Man: No Way Home steamrolled this fourth instalment of The Matrix franchise, while a lowly B- CinemaScore served as a solid indication that moviegoers simply didn't like what they were seeing. An HBO Max release didn't help matters, of course, but that doesn't fully explain a lowly $106 million haul at the global box office...for a movie with a reported $190 million budget.
Now, The Hollywood Reporter has cleared up a few recent rumours (including supposed plans for a TV series). "HBO Max insiders insist no series is in development," the trade reveals. "And movie sequels to the Warner Bros. reboot may prove glitchy as well. Sources tell THR that star Keanu Reeves does not have sequel options, and it’s unclear if director Lana Wachowski wants to make more."
While The Matrix Resurrections is one of the top five most viewed movies on HBO Max, that's clearly not enough for Warner Bros. to be able to justify making any follow-ups. Honestly, the mind boggles that an exec at the studio felt it was a good idea to give Wachowski nearly $200 million to make this movie.
"A wholly unnecessary epilogue to The Matrix trilogy, Resurrections retreads old ground, delivers mediocre action, and proves itself a tough pill to swallow despite a decent enough love story that, alone, isn't enough to justify revisiting this franchise. Time for a reboot," we said in our review.
On the plus side, Reeves donating 70% of his pay to cancer charities definitely goes some way towards justifying The Matrix Resurrections' existence!