The long-gestating ‘The Matrix 4’ now has yet another ‘Sense8’ actor onboard the cast! ‘Treadstone’ actor Brian J. Smith will be joining the stacked ensemble, in an unknown role. Fellow ‘Sense8’ actors Toby Onwumere, Max Riemelt, and Eréndira Ibarra also have unrevealed roles in the film, as previously announced.
Meanwhile, franchise stars Keanu Reeves (‘John Wick’) and Carrie-Anne Moss (‘Jessica Jones’) will be reprising their lead roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (‘Aquaman’) is onboard, and might be playing a young Morpheus or a descendant of the character, like a son or nephew. Laurence Fishburne (‘Black-ish’) played the role in all three ‘Matrix’ movies.
Neil Patrick Harris (‘How I Met Your Mother’) has an undisclosed role, and rumor has it that he will be a villain. Jada Pinkett Smith (‘Girls Trip’) will return as Niobe. Jessica Henwick (‘Iron Fist’) has a female Neo-like lead role. Jonathan Groff (‘Frozen’), Priyanka Chopra Jonas (‘Quantico’), and Andrew Caldwell (‘iZombie’) have roles that are under wraps.
Also, according to the site Allocine, ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ and ‘The Matrix Revolutions’ actor Lambert Wilson is in talks to return as The Merovingian. The character provided safe haven for exiled and soon-to-be-deleted programs in the Matrix. However, Wilson is concerned that he might run into scheduling conflicts, which could cause him not to join the fourthquel. If he ends up unable to come back, it is likely they will recast or remix the role (not unordinary for the franchise).
Lana Wachowski (‘The Matrix’ trilogy, ‘Cloud Atlas’) returns as writer, director, and producer on the fourth ‘Matrix’ film, currently without a title. She co-wrote the script with fellow ‘Sense8’ writers Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell.
The crew, so far, comprises of:
- Cinematographer John Toll (‘Cloud Atlas,’ ‘Sense8’)
- Costume designer Lindsey Pugh (‘Sense8,’ ‘Krypton’)
- Production designers Hugh Bateup and Peter Walpole (‘Sense8’)
- Stunt coordinator Monique Ganderton (‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ ‘Avengers: Endgame’)
- Visual effects supervisor Dan Glass (‘The Matrix Reloaded,’ ‘The Matrix Revolutions’)
Further, filming is currently underway, and will wrap on-or-around April 10th. Shooting locations in the United States include Chicago and San Francisco, as well as Sydney, Australia. The film’s working title is ‘Project Ice Cream’ and we at The GWW reported it back in June.
The still-untitled Warner Bros. film will release on May 21, 2021.
Source: Deadline