Deadline has confirmed that Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow have secured a China release date for Lana Wachowski's highly-anticipated The Matrix Resurrections. It's set to debut on January 14, 2022.
While this is certainly promising news and bodes well for the film's box office, it's fair to wonder whether piracy could potentially diminish some of its returns as that January date will come three weeks after the film's simultaneous theatrical and HBO Max streaming launch in the United States on December 22.
Meanwhile, in another universe, Sony Pictures, Marvel Studios, and eager fans across the globe are still awaiting word on when Jon Watts' Spider-Man: No Way Home starring Tom Holland will be granted a China release date. Considering the wall-crawler's immense popularity in the country, it seemed almost guaranteed that the studios will be granted a date, but with no Marvel Studios release being allowed to open in China this year and Tom Hardy's Venom: Let There Be Carnage now also looking uncertain to secure a release, it seems Spidey's status might be a little iffier than previously believed.
The Matrix Resurrections will see franchise stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss reprise their iconic roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively, with an all-new supporting cast consisting of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, Christina Ricci, Telma Hopkins, Eréndira Ibarra, Toby Onwumere, Max Riemelt, Brian J. Smith, Daniel Bernhardt as Agent Johnson, Lambert Wilson as The Merovingian, and Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe.
Lana Wachowski directed the long-awaited sequel solo, with a screenplay she co-wrote with David Mitchell & Aleksander Hemon. She's also a producer on the project with Grant Hill and James McTeigue.