Seminal VR film trilogy, The Matrix, is returning to the big screen once again. The series famous for introducing ‘bullet time’ and expanding the world’s collective imagination regarding the ‘what-ifs’ of virtual reality and AI is coming back to life for a fourth iteration.
A fourth Matrix film is set to be written and directed by Lana Wachowski, one of the original directors, reports Variety. Expected to begin production in 2020, the film will has been confirmed to include the return of Keanu Reeves (as Neo) and Carrie-Anne Moss (as Trinity).
For those out of the loop, The Matrix series prevalently depicts a virtual reality prison in which humans are trapped and fed on by a race of sentient machines. Meanwhile, the unassuming office worker Neo, master hacker Trinity, and shadowy liberator Morpheus establish a human resistance both inside and outside of the virtual program.
With filming for the fourth Matrix film not expected until 2020, it’s not too late to catch up. The original film begins celebrates its 20th anniversary on August 30th and will see anniversary screenings between August 30th and September 8th at over 135 specified AMC ‘Dolby Cinema’ theatres.
Totalled together, the original Matrix trilogy has topped $1.6 billion at the global box office since the first films release in 1999. It’s uncertain whether the fourth film will exist as a prequel or sequel, given the state of things at the end of the original trilogy, or whether Laurence Fishburne will reprise his role as Morpheus.
While some fans have already been spotted asking around for Warner Bros. Pictures to produce a VR tie-in experience, no such thing has been announced.