Since the moment he was cast in 2019, there has been speculation that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II might be playing a younger version of Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections.
Now, the actor has confirmed that he is indeed playing a new version of Neo's mentor, something we all assumed was probably the case following yesterday's trailer. While there's no denying that the talented actor will almost certainly deliver a badass take on Morpheus, there's bound to be some disappointment that Laurence Fishburne won't be reprising the role here.
The Man of Steel actor has previously claimed that he was never even asked to return for this movie, and it's unclear how The Matrix Resurrections will explain his change in appearance (especially when Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss' Neo and Trinity have aged in real-time since the previous films).
At the moment, it's sounding a lot like this fourth instalment will actually serve as a direct sequel to the first movie; those sequels weren't great, but to ignore them would wipe away a lot of mythology.
The response to yesterday's trailer was positive, but it seems all too easy to forget how bad those previous two efforts were - not to mention the fact that Lana Wachowski hasn't really made a good movie since 1999.
Regardless, The Matrix Resurrections arrives in theaters and on HBO Max on December 22.
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