When Is 'The Matrix 4' Out? Teasers, Trailers, Rumours And Everything You Need To Know

Tom Nicholson

18 January 2021 at 7:31 am·4-min read

A fourth film in the Matrix franchise is officially on the way, 18 years after Neo and pals liberated humanity from the techno-yoke of the Machines. But what can we expect from it, who's actually involved, and when is it actually out? It's early days, but we've got quite a few details already.

Filming started in February 2020 under the codename Project Ice Cream before coronavirus got in the way. Things were belatedly wrapped up in November 2020, and The Matrix 4 should arrive this year. We'll be constantly updating this page with all the news and rumours we can find. Here's what we know so far.

Will Keanu Reeves return as Neo?

Yes he will. That's despite him apparently having died at the end of Revolutions. "Lana Wachowski wrote a beautiful script and a wonderful story that resonated with me,” he said last June. “That's the only reason to do it."

Any of the other original stars coming back?

Despite Trinity having died in The Matrix Revolutions Carrie-Ann Moss will return to play her. Jada Pinkett Smith will return as Niobe, the role she played in Reloaded and Revolutions.

Laurence Fishburne has said that he hasn’t been approached to reprise Morpheus though, and Hugo Weaving isn’t returning as Agent Smith either. He wasn’t available thanks to a National Theatre production of The Visit.

"I was in touch with [director] Lana Wachowski, but in the end she decided that the dates weren't going to work,” he told Time Out. “So we'd sorted the dates and then she sort of changed her mind. They're pushing on ahead without me."

Sounds like somebody's a little bit narked. Weaving did say later that there was a reading with “Keanu, Carrie and myself and a few others from the old family,” so he was in it at one point. “I loved a lot of it and wasn't sure about other bits,” he reflected.

Daniel Bernhardt will be back as Agent Johnson though.

And what about the Wachowskis?

That's a bit of a tricky one. All three films in the original trilogy were co-written and co-directed by both Lilly and Lana Wachowski, but this time it'll just be Lana directing, with Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell and The Lazarus Project writer Aleksander Hemon adding to the script. Back in 2015, Lilly said a fourth Matrix film was a "particularly repelling idea in these times," though she's apparently given the project her blessing and isn't involved because she's working on her series Work In Progress.

Who else is in it?

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jessica Henwick will be leads, and Neil Patrick Harris will be another key character. Jonathan Groff and Toby Onwumere have been added too, as have Stephen Graham, Priyanka Chopra and Iron Fist's Jessica Henwick.

Am I going to have to Wikipedia what happened in the second and third Matrix films?

Most likely. Basically, everything was alright in the end because the Machines and Neo teamed up to stop Agent Smith taking over the whole Matrix, and that while Neo was assimilated to become a Smith himself, that made all of the Smiths explode. It looked like Neo died, and the Matrix got rebooted, but obviously Keanu's coming back so that'll get sorted out somehow.

What’s going to happen in The Matrix 4?

We don’t know yet, but we've got some pointers here and there. "Many of the ideas Lilly and I explored 20 years ago about our reality are even more relevant now," Lana Wachowski has said. "I'm very happy to have these characters back in my life and grateful for another chance to work with my brilliant friends."

And there's this from Abdul-Mateen: "I'm very excited to do it. A great team and I think there's going to be a lot of… it's a very exciting relevant script that I'm honoured to be a part of."

Other than that, it’s anyone’s guess. Keanu was spotted with a buzz cut during filming, so he might be popping outside of the Matrix itself again.