Despite the anticipation surrounding The Matrix Resurrections, Laurence Fishburne was notably absent from the film, stating that the filmmakers had no interest in involving him. Fishburne’s iconic portrayal of Morpheus has left a lasting impression on fans, making his exclusion from this installment particularly surprising.
The question remains: did audiences truly desire a fourth installment in the Matrix franchise? For many fans, the answer is a resounding no. However, the return of cinematic legends like Keanu Reeves as Neo, Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, and Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus was seen as crucial to the film’s success. Unfortunately, one major obstacle stood in the way: Fishburne was not invited to reprise his role in The Matrix Resurrections. Initially reported that he was not approached, Fishburne now reveals he actively sought involvement.
In an appearance on The View, Fishburne shared his experience regarding The Matrix Resurrections, stating that he reached out to the filmmakers but was met with resistance. He remarked, “I offered my services to the fourth Matrix, and they didn’t respond well to that. Hey, it’s not like I didn’t say, ‘I’d like to offer my services.’ I did. And for whatever reason, that didn’t happen, OK.” Ultimately, Fishburne’s character was replaced by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II from The Trial of the Chicago 7, who portrayed a version of Morpheus. Fishburne has voiced that his review of The Matrix Resurrections was not as negative as he anticipated, which is perhaps a lukewarm endorsement.
The absence of Morpheus from the fourth Matrix film can be traced back to his fate in the video game The Matrix Online, where the character was canonically killed off. Even though Morpheus is technically deceased, Resurrections demonstrated that technology could still resurrect his essence in a new form. Looking ahead, what does the future hold for the Matrix series and the potential for Warner Bros. to produce The Matrix 5? Fishburne remains open to the idea, stating, “It depends on the circumstances who was involved, how well the script has been written, if they offer me…We’ll see…”
The original Matrix film was a monumental success, ranking among the highest-grossing movies of 1999, nestled between Disney’s Tarzan and Pixar’s Toy Story 2. With a domestic box office gross of $171.5 million, it was only surpassed by its sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, released in 2003. The third film, The Matrix Revolutions, also premiered in 2003 but did not achieve the same level of success as its predecessor. In stark contrast, Resurrections underperformed, earning only $37.7 million domestically against a production budget of $190 million, despite a somewhat better performance internationally, it still failed to recover its costs.
The pressing question now is whether a fifth Matrix movie is necessary, and if so, does it require the original trio of Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Laurence Fishburne to return for it to be truly impactful?
