Laurence Fishburne Explains Why He Won’t Be in 'Matrix 4’
The Matrix 4 is back filming once again after a long delay due to COVID-19.
Laurence Fishburne, who played Morpheus in all three originals films, says he has "not been invited" to join the cast of the fourth installment.
The movie is scheduled to be released on April 1, 2022.
There's good news for fans of the long-awaited fourth film in the Matrix franchise, as the movie has once again resumed production in Berlin following a five-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. That good news has unfortunately been met with a bit of slightly more questionable news, as Laurence Fishburne, who played Morpheus in all three original films, confirmed that he would not be returning for Matrix 4.
"I have not been invited," Fishburne said in a new interview with New York Magazine pegged to the delay of his Broadway play return. "Maybe that will make me write another play. I’m looking for the blessing in that. I wish them well. I hope it’s great."
Fishburne, who in recent years has also appeared in Hannibal, Black-ish, and re-teamed with Keanu Reeves for the second and third John Wick movies, used the interview as an opportunity to reflect on the Morpheus character, and his relationship to the original films.
"It is probably the role that I’ll be best remembered for, which is great; it’s not the only thing I’ll be remembered for, which is better. He’s fucking amazing," he said. "What I get with him is I’ve got Darth Vader in this hand, and I’ve got Obi-Wan in that hand. I’ve got Bruce Lee, I’ve got Muhammad Ali shuffled in there, and I got kung fu. It’s pretty good."
While Fishburne seems to not be part of the sci-fi franchise's big start up (though we certainly can't rule out misdirection from a surprise cameo here), there's a chance that the character of Morpheus could be included nonetheless. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's character has been kept entirely under wraps, but a tweet last fall from Variety's Justin Kroll suggested that Abdul-Mateen could either playing a younger version of Morpheus, or someone otherwise related to him.
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Considering that Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are both confirmed to star as Neo and Trinity respectively—considering both characters died at the end of The Matrix Revolutions—it's fair to assume that some time-travel or other mechanism will be used to power the movie's plot.
Fishburne isn't the only major Matrix store who won't be returning for the upcoming sequel. Earlier this year Hugo Weaving, who played the villainous Agent Smith in all three original Matrix films, confirmed that he wouldn't be returning to the franchise due to a scheduling conflict.
“It’s unfortunate but actually I had this offer [for a play called The Visit] and then the offer came from The Matrix, so I knew it was happening but I didn’t have dates,” Weaving said. “I thought [I] could do both and it took eight weeks to work out that the dates would work–I held off on accepting [his role in The Visit]. I was in touch with [director] Lana Wachowski, but in the end she decided that the dates weren’t going to work. So we’d sorted the dates and then she sort of changed her mind. They’re pushing on ahead without me.”
With the same principal in mind, it's worth considering that Agent Smith could still be appearing in Matrix 4, but played by a different actor. Not only is time-travel stuff probably in play, but Agent Smith is, well, Agent Smith. Kind of a shape-shifter. Jonathan Groff is in the Matrix 4 cast—that could work.
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