Yahya Abdul-Mateen has opened up about how his Matrix Resurrections version of Morpheus connects to Lawrence Fishburne’s character from the original trilogy. Fishburne isn’t returning to the franchise in The Matrix 4, with a younger version of his iconic character instead being played by Abdul-Mateen. The new Morpheus has remained shrouded in mystery, however, with no official explanation having been given yet about how or why the character has changed.
In the original Matrix movie trilogy, Morpheus is the driving force of much of the action. He’s the zealot who finds Neo, breaks him out of the Matrix, takes him to see the Oracle, and arranges all the major events leading up to Neo’s first encounter with the Architect. Morpheus survives the final battle of The Matrix Revolutions, presumably allowing him to live a full and free life outside the machines’ digital prison. However, he appears to have been roped back into the Matrix in The Matrix Resurrections, albeit in an altered physical form.
In a recent interview with EW, Abdul-Mateen discussed his new Morpheus. While he remained tight-lipped on most story details, he did admit that his Morpheus will be notably seperate from Fishburne's, saying he will be a "different iteration" of the character. He also revealed that The Matrix 4’s Morpheus story will be one of growth and “self-discovery,” teasing some exciting new developments for the character. Read Abdul-Mateen’s full quote below.
"I play a character who's definitely aware of the history of the Matrix [and] the history of Morpheus… This character is on a journey of self-discovery. There's a lot in our story that's about growth, defining your own path. Morpheus isn't exempt from that."
One possible narrative arc is that Morpheus has reentered the Matrix to help save Neo and Trinity, who appear to be trapped and have had their own memories wiped. The Matrix can manifest different people in different ways, so the younger, altered Morpheus played by Abdul-Mateen could be something like an inner image of the character, hinting at a large identity crisis. That theory would fit well with the star’s tease of a “journey of self-discovery,” and it leaves a lot of possibilities on the table for where Morpheus’ character could go in The Matrix 4.
Alternatively, Abdul-Mateen’s new Morpheus could be a new character entirely – possibly even a program derived from Fishburne’s version. Abdul-Mateen said that his Morpheus is aware of the history of the Matrix and of Morpheus himself, which Neo and Trinity both apparently lack at the start of the movie. That indicates that Morpheus has acquired secret knowledge of the new machine world, possibly calling his trustworthiness into question. It should be exciting to see the mysteries of Morpheus finally be laid bare when The Matrix Resurrections finally releases.
Source: EW
