When it comes to the casting, The Matrix Resurrections is full of surprises, from famous faces in completely unknown roles to the newcomers replacing the old actors. And whether they are world-famous or not, the main actors can all be seen in other fascinating movies, some of which were even inspired by the sci-fi action series.
Between blood-soaked thrillers, underwater science fiction horrors, and gun-fu-driven action flicks, it's almost as if all the main actors' careers were leading up to the fourth Matrix movie.
Gone Girl (2014) - Neil Patrick Harris
Gone Girl is one of the best mystery movies currently available on Hulu, as the David Fincher-directed thriller keeps viewers on the edge of their seats for the full 2.5 hours. It sees Fincher doing what he has always been known to do, which is casting actors in unexpected roles. The director previously cast Justin Timberlake as the creator of Napster in The Social Network, and he cast Tyler Perry as an attorney in the aforementioned 2014 thriller too. But no one was more surprising than Neil Patrick Harris' appearance.
Harris isn't exactly the antagonist in Gone Girl, but he does go against type by playing the creepy businessman, Desi. His performance in the 2014 movie looks like the same approach he has to his role in The Matrix Resurrections, based on the small moments fans have seen of him in the trailer. In the trailer, he plays Neo's therapist, who is reserved and almost seems like he's manipulating The One, just like Desi did to Amy.
Speed Racer (2008) - Christina Ricci
Christina Ricci has been in the spotlight from such a young age, as she was a child actor and had her breakthrough role at just 11 years old in The Addams Family. Ever since then, she has always made leftfield choices when it comes to her movie roles, commonly working with filmmakers who have distinct visions, such as Tim Burton. This includes the Wachowski siblings too, as not only is she starring in The Matrix Resurrections, but she had a leading role in Speed Racer too.
Many would agree that Speed Racer deserves a reboot, as it was criticized for having a convoluted narrative and two-dimensional characters, but it was also full of fantastical elements. The movie doesn't get enough credit for its visual effects, not to mention how exciting the races are.
Memento (2000) - Carrie-Anne Moss
Memento was filmmaker Christopher Nolan's breakthrough movie, and like most of his films, it manipulates time in a unique way. The film follows Leonard, a man with amnesia who is attempting to track down his wife's killer, only it's played in reverse, making it one of the best non-linear narrative movies.
Carrie-Anne Moss stars as Natalie, who is far from the caring and motherly character that Trinity is. Instead, she deceitfully uses Learnard's memory loss to her advantage and coerces him into doing things he doesn't want to do. Memento doesn't just feature one Matrix alum, but two, as Joe Pantoliano, who played Cypher in the original 1999 movie, appears as Teddy too.
Hamilton (2020) - Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Groff is best known for his stage performances rather than his movie roles. His powerful singing voice helped him earn the role of Kristoff in the Frozen series, but it was his role as King George III in Hamilton that put him on the map. The hip-hop-driven musical was recorded in 2015 and released on Disney+ last year, and it remains one of the most exciting things on the streaming platform.
But though Groff is most famous for performing on stage, this might flip in the coming years, as Hamilton was seemingly a springboard for the actor. Groff has a yet unknown role in the new Matrix movie, however, there is a theory that he might be playing a reimagined version of Agent Smith.
Candyman (2021) - Yahya Abdul Mateen II
One of the biggest surprises about the fourth Matrix movie is that Laurence Fishbourne won't be returning as Morpheus. It's disappointing, as his portrayal of the character is nigh-impossible to replicate. However, if anyone can do it, it's Yahya Abdul Mateen II. Though Abdul-Mateen is just 35 years old, much younger than Morpheus would be at this point in time, he is taking over the character from Fishbourne.
The actor has had a strong few years, as he has starred in Aquaman and The Trial of the Chicago 7, but 2021 marked his first leading role in a major movie. Abdul-Mateen plays the titular character in the horror movie Candyman. It's a satisfying sequel to the 1992 original, as it's visually stunning, has pitch-black humor, and is utterly horrifying.
Scream 2 (1997) - Jada Pinkett Smith
The Scream series turned the cold opening sequence into a tradition, as it teased the Ghostface killer's inventive ways of killing. The first movie in the series opens with the serial killer taunting a woman who is home alone, only for her parents to find her corpse hanging from a tree. In Scream 2, it was Jada Pinkett Smith's turn to be the victim.
Smith plays Maureen who gets stabbed by Ghostface in a movie theatre, and it's literally the most theatrical death in the series, as she climbs on the stage in front of the movie screen. In the upcoming fourth Matrix movie, the actor will be reprising her role as Niobe, one of the rebels of Zion.
Baywatch (2017)
Priyanka Chopra might not be a well-recognized name in the industry just yet, but she's a movie star when it comes to Bollywood and it's only a matter of time until she becomes a major Hollywood actor. The first English-speaking movie the actor starred in is Baywatch, the 2017 reboot of the iconic TV series.
In the film, Chopra plays Victoria Leeds, an affluent businesswoman and the antagonist of the movie. Baywatch is an odd showcase of what Chopra can do with an antagonistic role, as it's essentially a teen comedy, but she was a standout in the film. However, although Chopra will star in the fourth Matrix movie, her role is currently unknown.
Underwater (2020) - Jessica Henwick
One of the new characters in The Matrix Resurrections will be played by Jessica Henwick. Like Priyanka Chopra, very little is known about Henwick's character. Henwick is a rising star, as she isn't only in the upcoming Matrix sequel, but also Knives Out 2 and the Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans-starring The Gray Man.
The actor reached this point thanks to Game of Thrones and some great supporting roles in huge movies like Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But one movie in her short filmography that goes overlooked is Underwater. The movie is about a group of scientists and drill workers at the bottom of the ocean who come into contact with strange and deadly creatures. Henwick plays one of the biological research assistants.
Nobody (2021) - Daniel Bernhardt
Daniel Bernhardt is more of a martial artist than an actor, and that's mostly why he's cast in roles with dialogue. The actor has played henchmen in countless action movies including Atomic Blonde and Logan, but most recently, he played Bus Goon in Nobody. The movie follows a former hitman who comes out of retirement to get revenge on some home invaders, and in that respect, Nobody is a lot like John Wick.
But the similarities between the two movies are mostly drawn from the gun-fu, and a lot of the credit for the way it looks is owed to Bernhardt. In The Matrix Resurrections, the actor will be reprising his role as Agent Johnson, who appeared in The Matrix Reloaded. But he will have a much larger role this time, given that Agent Smith is no longer in the picture.
John Wick (2014) - Keanu Reeves
John Wick might be to thank for The Matrix Resurrections existing. Before the 2014 Keanu Reeves-starring movie, nobody was asking for a fourth Matrix movie, but what followed was a Reeves renaissance.
Not only is John Wick now a huge franchise, but the decades-old comedy series Bill & Ted, also starring the actor, was revived for a third movie too. There are loads of similarities between the sci-fi series and the hitman movies, as, along with the fact that they both star Reeves, they both feature envelope-pushing fight choreography.