Keanu Reeves became an action icon as Neo in The Matrix trilogy, and incredibly, he repeated the feat two decades later as the titular hitman in the John Wick franchise. Now the Keanussance is set to crescendo in 2021 as the actor reprises both roles for the fourth chapters in the respective franchises. And of course, Keanu Reeves is already training for The Matrix 4 and John Wick 4. Take a look:
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Neo and especially John Wick both like to have guns... lots of guns, and it helps to know how to use them if you’re going to be playing those characters onscreen. Obviously Keanu Reeves knows how to use a gun at this point after years starring in action movies, in particular the past half-decade as John Wick, but you can never have too much practice.
With The Matrix 4 and John Wick: Chapter 4 on the way, Keanu Reeves is looking to stay sharp. So the actor is back at Taran Tactical, where both he and Halle Berry trained for this year’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. It’s also where Will Smith trained to become Deadshot for Suicide Squad. It seems like if you want to know what you’re doing and look good firing a gun onscreen, this is where you go.
As you can see from this Instagram post, Keanu Reeves has already begun his training at Taran Tactical for both John Wick: Chapter 4 and The Matrix 4. The legacy of both these franchises is one of escalation, so I expect we’ll see even more amazing action onscreen with each of these fourth chapters, and Keanu Reeves is doing his part to make sure he’s ready to deliver that.
John Wick should really invest in lead given the amount he uses in the course of a film, but in the latter chapters of The Matrix trilogy, Neo brought his fists to a gunfight. The One no longer really needed firearms and instead engaged in hand-to-hand combat, so it will be interesting to see if we’ll get anything akin to the iconic lobby scene from The Matrix in The Matrix 4.
But to know that, we’d have to know something about The Matrix 4’s story, which of course we don’t. We also don’t know how The Matrix 4 will set itself apart from modern action franchises like John Wick. The original Matrix defined what action looks like onscreen for a long time but now movies like John Wick are doing new things. Each has their own style that you want them to stay true to, but I think we also want some innovation from The Matrix 4 in keeping with the franchise’s legacy.
What we do know is that The Matrix 4 and John Wick: Chapter 4 are both set to release on the same day: May 21, 2021. While the idea of a Keanu Reeves double feature sounds exciting, I imagine that one of these films will move by the time 2021 rolls around so they don’t cannibalize each another.
Keanu Reeves isn’t the only one getting ready for The Matrix 4. His co-star Carrie-Anne Moss is also excited to get back into Trinity Shape for the fourthquel. The duo is expected to begin filming The Matrix 4 in February of next year.
Check out our 2020 Release Schedule to see what movies you can look forward to next year and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all the latest movie news.
