Is Agent Smith in The Matrix Resurrections, and could a new actor be playing him? Agent Smith was, of course, the defining villain of The Matrix movie trilogy. Played by Hugo Weaving, his skills and appearance led him to becoming one of the most iconic movie villains of the last 20+ years. His battles against Neo formed a key part of the overarching storyline before his eventual defeat in The Matrix Revolutions, but with Lana Wachowski returning to the world of the Matrix, there's a question mark over his fate and future.
Death means little in the Matrix though, as evidenced by the fact both Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) are returning in The Matrix 4, fittingly called The Matrix Resurrections. With dead characters being revived, is there scope for Smith to come back as well? Any new villain would certainly have a bitgsuit to fill, and there's been little confirmed either way on that front, nor does The Matrix 4 trailer give much away.
As it stands, Agent Smith is not officially in The Matrix Resurrections. Weaving isn't returning, barring a surprise appearance, with scheduling conflicts preventing him from coming back. However, Agent Smith was initially supposed to appear in The Matrix 4, and so there is a chance the role has been recast and the villain will indeed make an appearance. Similarly, it could be that those scheduling conflicts were worked out (the film was delayed from its original May 2021 release, after all), and Weaving is able to make even a small cameo in the film. The trailer doesn't give a clear sign of Smith, but other Agents do appear and are still very much active, including Daniel Bernhardt's upgraded Agent Johnson, so it's not a stretch to imagine Agent Smith returning.
If Weaving isn't playing Agent Smith in The Matrix 4, the trailer opens up two possible replacements: Neil Patrick Harris and Jonathan Groff. Both actors would certainly fit with the role of a villain, and each one's character name has been kept a secret. Groff has been theorized as Agent Smith for some time now, not least because he'd be ideal casting for an Agent, and the trailer has moments that both support and reject the notion. In one shot, someone who appears to be Groff stands over Neo with a gun, in a scene blurred by rain - it's certainly a moment that evokes Agent Smith, but is difficult to tell anything for certain. Groff returns later in the trailer, with a very meta line about going "back to the Matrix." That would arguably be more in keeping with him taking on a new, Architecht-type of role in the film, but it does have some echoes of Smith's scene with Morpheus in the first movie. Previous The Matrix 4 footage shows Groff having his mouth shut, much like the Agents do to Neo, which would imply he isn't one of them, but may be linked in some way.
Harris' character similarly doesn't have an obvious air of Agent Smith about him, but he could be playing an Agent-esque role. He is working as Thomas Anderson's therapist, at least based on what's in the trailer, and clearly wants to stop him from becoming Neo again, including keeping him topped up with an apparently endless supply of blue pills, while also wearing blue glasses to further drive home his allegiance. His character very much seems to be on the side of the villains, and at the very least could be a sort of higher Agent, designed to keep Neo in line, and it's not totally implausible that could lead to a reveal of him as Agent Smith later in The Matrix Resurrections. While there's no confirmation, it would be a surprise if Agent Smith wasn't involved in some capacity, whether that's Weaving secretly coming up or a recasting, like what seems to be happening with Morpheus. Only time will tell, but one more Neo vs. Agent Smith battle may be on the cards.
