Warner Bros. has announced plans to re-enter The Matrix with a fifth film in the franchise.
Multiple outlets cite a press release from Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group announcing that a follow-up to 2021's The Matrix Resurrections is in development.
Notably, it will mark the first Matrix film not to be directed by Lana or Lilly Wachowski. Instead, director and screenwriter Drew Goddard will helm the production, while Lana Wachowski is attached as executive producer.
Details on the film's plot and casting — including whether franchise star Keanu Reeves will return as Neo — have yet to be revealed.
Upon the arrival of The Matrix Resurrections, viewers wondered whether the film's open-ended finale was a setup for future films. Before 2021 was out, Reeves said he believed there were no plans for a fifth Matrix film, only to add, "If [Wachowski] invites me again, I'm in."
In a statement, Warner Bros. Motion Pictures President of Production Jesse Ehrman shares that director Goddard has proposed "a new idea that we all believe would be an incredible way to continue the Matrix world, by both honouring what Lana and Lilly began over 25 years ago and offering a unique perspective based on his own love of the series and characters."
"The entire team at Warner Bros. Discovery is thrilled for Drew to be making this new Matrix film, adding his vision to the cinematic canon the Wachowskis spent a quarter of a century building here at the studio."
Goddard was previously nominated for an Oscar as screenwriter of The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. His other feature film credits include writing Cloverfield and World War Z, and writing and directing The Cabin in the Woods and Bad Times at the El Royale.
"It is not hyperbole to say The Matrix films changed both cinema and my life," Goddard said. "Lana and Lilly's exquisite artistry inspires me on a daily basis, and I am beyond grateful for the chance to tell stories in their world."
Read Exclaim's review of The Matrix Resurrections.