Whether he’s in a Matrix project or not, Laurence Fishburne will always be Morpheus to multiple generations of the franchise's fans. Not seeing him as the strong leader in The Matrix Resurrections was disarming for some fans. But Fishburne wasn’t sweating not being in the Matrix Reloaded sequel. The Morpheus actor hadn’t been asked about the film until recently. The Matrix alum finally offered his honest review of the Matrix sequel.
Before Resurrections even premiered, the School for Good and Evil star embraced questions about whether or not he was returning to the franchise. Of course, he was already honest about not playing Neo’s mentor in the third sequel. Months after The Matrix Resurrections’ release (currently available through an HBO Max subscription), Fishburne was finally asked if he saw the film while on the red carpet for the Netflix fantasy adaptation. The All the Old Knives actor didn’t hold back by saying to Variety:
It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. And it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. But I thought Carrie-Anne and Keanu really did their thing.
Fishburne was still supportive of Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves despite his feelings about the movie. He seemed indifferent toward the film. His expectations were already low before watching it, so he didn’t leave the experience disappointed. His reaction to the third Matrix sequel came off as a typical movie viewer rather than someone who was an integral part of the sci-fi franchise.
If you think his review was frank, his response about not being in the sequel might crush Matrix fans’ hearts. Of course, fans were outraged when they found out Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was playing Morpheus in Resurrections rather than Fishburne. When asked if he missed not playing Morpheus, he responded quickly with “not really.” His response spoke volumes after his honest take on the sequel.
Fishburne’s opinion wasn’t an outlier as critics and audiences called out the film for not living up to the Matrix legacy. Much like the Oscar-nominated actor, critics enjoyed the teaming of Reeves and Moss but were indifferent to the overall story, especially the meta-angle. Fans echoed the same sentiment about the film’s stars but were divided on whether the first half or second half didn’t live up to their expectations. The division over the Matrix sequel showed up in its box office returns as it didn’t make back its budget after it bombed in China.
Laurence Fishburne hasn’t let not playing Morpheus sideline him as his 2022 was busy with the release of The School for Good and Evil and All the Old Knives. Next year isn’t too shabby either as he will appear in one of 2023’s biggest movies John Wick: Chapter 4. The sequel will arrive in theaters on March 24, 2023.
You can revisit Fishburne’s time as Morpheus by watching the first three Matrix films on HBO Max.
