Here's why Keanu Reeves returned for The Matrix 4. After Neo sacrificed his life to defeat Agent Smith and save Zion in 2003's The Matrix Revolutions, most filmgoers assumed they'd seen the last of Reeves' protagonist. Even when reports started popping up about Warner Bros.' plans to revive The Matrix franchise, it was assumed the property would live on with a prequel or reboot (one rumored to star Michael B. Jordan). It was until August 2019 the news about Reeves coming back for The Matrix 4 was made official.
Joining Reeves in the film is his Matrix trilogy costar Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, along with a cast that mostly consists of newcomers to the series (save for Jada Pinkett Smith, who's back as Niobe). The Matrix 4 is arriving at a time when Reeves is more popular than he's been for a while thanks to the success of the John Wick movies - which is to say, he didn't really need to make the film, from a career standpoint. So, what was it that convinced him to reprise his role as "The One"?
Speaking to Empire, Reeves praised The Matrix 4 's "beautiful" script co-written by director and The Matrix co-creator Lana Wachowski, saying it has "a wonderful story that resonated with me. That's the only reason to do it." He went on to add he loves working with Wachowski again (who's helming this new film without her sibling, Lilly), before adding that he feels The Matrix 4's story has "some meaningful things to say, and that we can take some nourishment from."
It's good to hear such positive things from Reeves about The Matrix 4. Obviously, the actor's not going to trash the movie before it even finishes production, but his comments suggest the script by Lana Wachowski and her co-writers (Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell and Sense8 writer Aleksandar Hemon) has a message that's relevant and inspired him to come back to the franchise at a time when, professionally-speaking, he didn't have to. The original Matrix was revolutionary for its time, but its sci-fi themes have become a bit outdated in the twenty-plus years since then. Fortunately, it sounds like The Matrix 4 will evolve the franchise's ideas for a world when people have adjusted to the digital influences on their daily lives and spend much of their time interacting online.
The big question now is how Reeves returns as Neo in the film, and whether he's playing Neo at all. The final scene in The Matrix Revolutions alluded to Neo coming back in some form, and he's technically already been resurrected once before (when Smith "killed" him in the first Matrix, only for Neo to revive himself a moment later). Themes of reincarnation, change, and connection have featured heavily in the Wachowskis' work over the past decade, most notably in Cloud Atlas and Sense8. Given the writers involved in developing the screenplay with Lana Wachowski, it's safe to assume that will carry-over to The Matrix 4 and Neo's (if that is who Reeves is playing) arc therein.
Source: Empire
