Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss open up about what it was like filming The Matrix Resurrections without fellow original stars Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving. Opening in theaters and on HBO Max this week, The Matrix Resurrections returns to the iconic sci-fi franchise for the first time since 2003's Revolutions, which seemingly put an end to the humans vs. machines war. However, something has changed in the Matrix since then, and Resurrections begins with both Neo (Reeves) and Trinity (Moss) back within the simulated world - and without memories of each other.
A Matrix movie without the central pair of Neo and Trinity seems inconceivable, so fans were relieved to hear both would be back for Resurrections even despite their deaths in Revolutions. However, excitement was dampened somewhat by the news that they wouldn't be joined by some of their fellow franchise veterans. Despite playing the pivotal roles of Morpheus and Agent Smith, respectively, in the original trilogy, Fishburne and Weaving are both sitting out The Matrix 4. Instead, their characters will be revamped through the performances of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jonathan Groff.
It must've felt strange for Reeves and Moss to return to this familiar world without those they first worked with, and the two actors commented on the experience in a recent talk with UNILAD. Director Lana Wachowski had a particular vision for The Matrix Resurrections, and that meant new directions for Morpheus and Smith. Reeves and Moss respected that, though they missed their former co-stars. Reeves said first:
‘Yeah, certainly. Speaking with Lana about that… it was just creatively where she wanted to go with the production and the story. Yeah, we love Hugo and Lawrence, and we thought about them all the time.’
Moss then added:
‘It’s hard not to think about them, because they’re so much a part of it. I love both of them, and they’re both so talented and such great people. But, there’s an evolution that happened for Lana with the story, and we’re here serving that, you know?’
Respecting the story means respecting any changes Wachowski chose to make, and both Reeves and Moss did so. Weaving received an offer to return for The Matrix 4, but scheduling conflicts prevented him from appearing. As for Fishburne, the onetime Morpheus actor said he never heard anything about starring in the film, but he was okay with it. Overall, it seems there weren't any hurt feelings on anyone's parts, and those who did return for The Matrix Resurrections were game to continue on with this new story. Meanwhile, Morpheus and Smith will live on... somehow.
Early critical reactions for The Matrix Resurrections are mixed, but skewing more positive, which will surely come as a relief to those who were let down by the previous sequel. By all accounts, Wachowski has taken some big, nostalgic swings with her first Matrix movie without her sister, and it will be quite interesting to see how it turns out. By not including Fishburne and Weaving, there's already some apprehension among dedicated fans, but as Reeves and Moss said, that was the way Wachowski wanted to go. Now everyone's just along for the ride.
Source: UNILAD
