Production continues in San Francisco on the upcoming fourth film in The Matrix series, and director Lana Wachowski is getting by with a little help from her friends. The prolific filmmaker has made another addition to the cast of the new movie, bringing along another alumnus from her Netflix series Sense8, which she co-created with her sister Lilly Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski. Deadline reports that Brian J. Smith has joined the ever growing cast in an undisclosed role, but previously played the part of Chicago cop Will Gorsk in the streaming series. Though it’s unclear who he will play in The Matrix, if he’s playing a cop this time around he won’t be one of the good guys.
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Smith isn’t the only former cast member of Sense8 that will appear in The Matrix 4, as he’ll be joined by Eréndira Ibarra, Max Riemelt, and Toby Onwumere who all starred in the series as well. Two of the writers from Sense8, Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell (who also collaborated on Cloud Atlas with The Wachowskis), are also attached to the series, helping Lana with penning the script for the fourth Matrix.
Other newcomers to the franchise that will appear include Watchmen‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Iron Fist alum Jessica Henick, Mindhunter‘s Jonathan Groff, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, iZombie‘s Andrew Caldwell, and Neil Patrick Harris. Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss will reprise their roles from the original trilogy as Neo and Trinity, with The Matrix Reloaded actor Lambert Wilson previously revealing he’s in talks to return as The Merovingian aka The Frenchman.
“We could not be more excited to be re-entering The Matrix with Lana,” Warner Bros. Chairman Toby Emmerich said last year when the project was announced. “Lana is a true visionary — a singular and original creative filmmaker — and we are thrilled that she is writing, directing and producing this new chapter in The Matrix universe.”
“Many of the ideas Lilly and I explored 20 years ago about our reality are even more relevant now. I’m very happy to have these characters back in my life and grateful for another chance to work with my brilliant friends,” Wachowski added.
Cameras are already rolling on the new movie, and the first photos and videos from the set raise a lot of questions about what we can expect. We’ve already gotten a look at Reeves and Moss in the film, who are sporting some different looks from how their characters originally appeared in the franchise as Reeves’ Neo sports long hair and a ragged bear, almost like his other action franchise character John Wick. Check back here for more news and theories on The Matrix 4!
The Matrix 4 is set to hit theaters on May 21, 2021.
