The first footage of ‘Matrix 4’ is finally here with a title reveal and snazzy new powers for Keanu Reeves.
Warner Bros stunned fans by dropping a teaser to the much-anticipated film at its CinemaCon presentation, revealing the official title as ‘The Matrix: Resurrections’, which happened to be one of the many names floated by fans over the past year.
While the teaser has yet to officially drop, fan reactions and YouTube videos aplenty give fans an insight into the sci-fi thriller, which also stars Carrie Ann Moss, Neil Patrick Harris, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Although, going by the reviews, Chopra Jonas does not appear in the footage.
The trailer begins with Reeves’ Neo (aka Thomas Anderson) talking to his therapist, played by Harris, as they discuss his dreams “that weren’t just dreams.” Neo appears to have no recollection of The Matrix, finding himself trapped in a world he does not comprehend. A chance encounter with Trinity (Moss) also reveals that neither of them remembers the other.
Eventually, Neo encounters a young revolutionary (Abdul-Mateen II) who is reminiscent of Morpheus, the freedom fighter played by Laurence Fishburne in the original ‘Matrix’ trilogy. Abdul-Mateen II’s character hands Neo a red pill and soon he finds himself looking at an older version of himself in a mirror.
New powers for Neo are also revealed in the footage, with the teaser also showing our hero seemingly overpowering a missile with the power of his mind.
‘The Matrix: Resurrections’ marks the return of Lana Wachowski as director, with the film slated to drop on December 22 in US theatres and release simultaneously on HBO Max in the same territory. Lana had co-directed and co-wrote the first three ‘Matrix’ instalments with sister Lilly Wachowski.
The film also features Jada Pinkett Smith, Jonathan Groff, Jessica Henwick, Telma Hopkins, Christina Ricci, among others. Filming for the fourth instalment began in San Francisco in February 4, 2020, and had to be halted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The release date of the movie also had to be pushed from May 21 to December 22.
To simplify the plot of the original trilogy, the popular series unravelled the story of humans trapped in a virtual reality by machines. Reeves’ Neo was a hero on a mission to save mankind with the help of his lady love Trinity and Morpheus. The trilogy netted more than $1.6 billion (Dh5.8 billion) worldwide.
It would be interesting how the fourth film brings the characters of Neo and Trinity back to life after it was suggested they died at the end of ‘The Matrix Revolutions’.
