Update: Yeah, that was too good to be true, wasn't it? Slashfilm is now reporting that a representative for director Chad Stahelski's told them the comments about the Wachowski's being involved isn't true. Apparentl,y the director responded to a question about the pair hypothetically being involved only. Our original story follows below.
It's been a couple of years since we've heard much of anything about a fourth Matrix movie that was in development. The details we had about the project were scarce, but one of the things we thought we knew was that the Wachowskis, the siblings who created the original trilogy, would not be involved. It turns out, that's not actually the case.
Chad Stahelski was Keanu Reeves' stunt double in the Matrix films and, while he's now busy directing the man in the John Wick franchise, he recently revealed that not only are the Wachowskis involved in the new Matrix project, they're not the only ones who might return. According to Stahelski...
Yeah. And if they wanted help, I would absolutely put down whatever I was doing to help them.
This simple comment from Chad Stahelski is news because the last thing we heard, while a new Matrix movie was in development, the original creators who wrote and directed the trilogy were not involved. It seems that that has changed over the last two years.
While the Wachowski's are apparently part of the new film, Stahelski says he's not sure of what the overall picture looks like, so exactly how they're involved isn't clear.
Frequently, when franchise builders let other people take over a franchise, they stay on as producers, so it's possible that could be what the Wachowski's have in mind, being involved at the top level without having their hands directly on the new film. Though certainly one assumes if one or both were interested in directing, the job is probably theirs.
While details on the potential new Matrix movie were slim even when it was first revealed, Ready Player One scribe Zak Penn was apparently working on a script, and Michael B. Jordan's was a name being mentioned as a potential star.
The only thing we knew for sure was that the movie wasn't planned to be a reboot. Instead the idea was to look at the potential of building a cinematic universe concept out of the Matrix, as there could potentially be multiple stories to tell within the code. Although, one rumor suggested the movie could be a prequel focused on Laurence Fishburne's character Morpheus.
Needless to say, fans will be excited to learn that not only is this project still active, but the Wachowski's are involved. Chad Stahleski tells Yahoo that he is too. He's even willing to go back to his old job if they ask him to..
I’m super happy that the Wachowskis are not just doing a Matrix, but they’re expanding what we all loved. And if it’s anywhere near the level of what they’ve already done, it wouldn’t take more than a call to go, ‘Hey, we want you to be a stunt guy’ and I would probably go and get hit by a car.
The fact that the Wachowskis are involved in the new Matrix film certainly increases my confidence in the entire project. I have no problem with more Matrix movies as long as they're well thought out and worth making. Of course, considering this project has gone pretty quiet, we have little idea just how likely it is that we'll ever see it.
