Matrix 5 Faces Major Hurdle, But for a Good Reason

Despite the undeserved box office disappointment of Matrix: Resurrections, Matrix 5 is in the works. However, a significant obstacle has emerged, stemming from the new director's desire to involve the franchise's original creators, the Wachowskis...

**Despite the undeserved box office disappointment of Matrix: Resurrections, Matrix 5 is in the works (whether we like it or not), but a major obstacle stands in its way.**

The Matrix franchise seems to be losing its population with each installment, and not just at the box office. While the original trilogy was written and directed by the Wachowski sisters, it was Lana Wachowski who single-handedly directed Matrix: Resurrections, with the help of David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon on the screenplay. Now that Warner Bros. studio is holding onto the brand, she is expected to simply serve as executive producer for Matrix 5, which has been entrusted to Drew Goddard.

The director of The Cabin in the Woods and Bad Times at the El Royale, who also wrote the screenplays for The Martian, Project Hail Mary, and numerous episodes of cult series (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias, Lost...), was chosen for the impossible mission of reviving the franchise without the Wachowskis. In theory, that is, because he actually wants Lilly and Lana to be involved, and that's what could pose a problem.

<figure><a href="https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/u2ilqbzlgqmwdnqsoskjcohgapo.jpg"><picture decoding="async" loading="lazy"><source sizes="auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" srcset="https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/u2ilqbzlgqmwdnqsoskjcohgapo-630x354.jpg.webp 630w" type="image/webp"><img sizes="auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" srcset="https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/u2ilqbzlgqmwdnqsoskjcohgapo-630x354.jpg 630w, https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/u2ilqbzlgqmwdnqsoskjcohgapo-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/u2ilqbzlgqmwdnqsoskjcohgapo-143x80.jpg 143w" height="354" width="630" src="https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/u2ilqbzlgqmwdnqsoskjcohgapo-630x354.jpg" alt="Keanu Reeves dans Matrix Reloaded" decoding="async" loading="lazy"></picture></a><figcaption>*The Wachowskis' power, currently*</figcaption></figure>

MATRIX: RE-RESURRECTIONS

Lilly Wachowski has largely stepped away from the Hollywood system for many years, which doesn't mean she's stopped working. She has continuously worked on various projects, such as adaptations of Gretchen Felker-Martin's Manhunt, Jordy Rosenberg's Confessions of the Fox, and Cosmoknights, and is currently seeking funding for the dystopian thriller The Hunted. However, she has no intention of setting foot back in the Matrix, as she reiterated on The Business:

"Warner Bros, they want to make another one. They'll always want to make another one. Personally, I don't want to play in that sandbox anymore. I'm a bit tired of it."

So far, nothing special, as Lilly Wachowski had already refused to return for Matrix Resurrections. The rest, however, is interesting:

"But maybe something is happening with Drew Goddard. He doesn't want to move forward without our blessing. So that leads to a complicated situation: maybe we'll poke our noses in, just a little bit, and see how we feel about it. And if we want to give Drew our blessing, or not. So there might be something on the horizon, but we don't know yet."

<figure><a href="https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2022/09/image-7.png"><picture decoding="async" loading="lazy"><source sizes="auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" srcset="https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2022/09/image-7-630x264.png.webp 630w, https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2022/09/image-7.png.webp 1600w" type="image/webp"><img sizes="auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" srcset="https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2022/09/image-7-630x264.png 630w, https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2022/09/image-7-300x126.png 300w, https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2022/09/image-7-143x60.png 143w, https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2022/09/image-7.png 1600w" height="264" width="630" src="https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2022/09/image-7-630x264.png" alt="keanu reeves carrie-anne moss matrix resurrections" decoding="async" loading="lazy"></picture></a><figcaption>*The saga's horizon when Resurrections was announced*</figcaption></figure>

Drew Goddard was officially announced as the director and screenwriter for Matrix 5 in April 2024. Two and a half years later, what stage is the project at? Is the screenplay ready to go into production if the Wachowskis approve it? To what extent can the studio exert pressure if they don't give their blessing, and Drew Goddard refuses to continue?

Matrix 5 remains a great mystery. The potential returns of Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, or even Laurence Fishburne (absent from Matrix Resurrections) are neither confirmed nor denied. And above all, how much will Warner Bros. invest in this film? The financial trajectory of the saga isn't exactly ideal, to put it politely. After the phenomenal success of The Matrix in 1999 (over 473 million, for an estimated budget of 63 million), Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions were shot simultaneously, with a global budget of 300 million, and released a few months apart in 2003.

<figure><a href="https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/matrix-revolutions-photo-keanu-reeves-960656.jpg"><picture decoding="async" loading="lazy"><source sizes="auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" srcset="https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/matrix-revolutions-photo-keanu-reeves-960656-630x270.jpg.webp 630w" type="image/webp"><img sizes="auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" srcset="https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/matrix-revolutions-photo-keanu-reeves-960656-630x270.jpg 630w, https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/matrix-revolutions-photo-keanu-reeves-960656-300x129.jpg 300w, https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/matrix-revolutions-photo-keanu-reeves-960656-143x61.jpg 143w, https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/matrix-revolutions-photo-keanu-reeves-960656.jpg 1400w" height="270" width="630" src="https://www.ecranlarge.com/content/uploads/2024/05/matrix-revolutions-photo-keanu-reeves-960656-630x270.jpg" alt="Matrix Revolutions" decoding="async" loading="lazy"></picture></a><figcaption>*The saga's horizon once Resurrections was released*</figcaption></figure>

Reloaded exploded with over 740 million at the box office in May 2003, but the end of the trilogy only managed 427 million in November. One could debate the relevance of the word "failure" for Revolutions, but not for Resurrections. In 2021, this fourth installment was a monumental flop, with 160 million at the box office against a budget of 190 million.

Are the Warner Bros. executives ready to drop 150 or 200 million on a fifth Matrix? Without Keanu Reeves? Knowing that the studio is currently in a whirlwind with the acquisition by Paramount, which is proving more complicated than expected, the **existence of a Matrix 5 will depend on multiple factors**. And not just on the Wachowskis.

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