In a surprise piece of news, Will Smith took to social media to share a new video that has many thinking he just teased a potential Matrix reboot.
What happens in Will Smith’s video?
In the video, released on Instagram on Monday, a wall of text recounts the infamous story of how Smith turned down the starring role of Neo in 1997’s The Matrix to instead star in Wild Wild West. The video then asks what it would have been like if Smith had starred in the movie, before it imitates text from The Matrix, telling Smith to “wake up” and that the Matrix has him.
Check out Will Smith’s new video below:
It’s unclear exactly what the video means. Fans quickly began assuming that Smith was teasing some sort of rebooted Matrix project with himself in the lead role. A fifth Matrix movie is reported to be in development, with Drew Goddard in talks to direct the project. This would be the first Matrix film to not feature direct involvement from creators Lana and Lilly Wachowski, though Lana will be executive producing the upcoming picture.
“Drew came to Warner Bros. with a new idea that we all believe would be an incredible way to continue the Matrix world, by both honoring what Lana and Lilly began over 25-years ago and offering a unique perspective based on his own love of the series and characters,” Warner Bros. Motion Pictures president of production Jesse Ehrman said in a statement. “The entire team at Warner Bros. Discovery is thrilled for Drew to be making this new Matrix film, adding his vision to the cinematic canon the Wachowskis’ spent a quarter of a century building here at the studio.”
The Matrix Resurrections was the most recent film in the series, having released in December 2021. It was directed by Lana Wachowski from a screenplay she co-wrote with Aleksander Hemon and David Mitchell. The fourth installment featured the return of Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jada Pinkett Smith, reprising their iconic roles as Neo, Trinity, and Niobe. Lambert Wilson and Daniel Bernhardt also reprised their respective villainous roles of The Merovingian and Agent Johnson.
They were joined by franchise newcomers Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christina Ricci, Telma Hopkins, Eréndira Ibarra, Toby Onwumere, Max Riemelt, and Brian J. Smith.
