Lilly Wachowski Explains Why Returning to 'The Matrix 4' Seemed "Unappealing"

The filmmaker sat out the latest iteration because it felt like it would be too "emotionally unfulfilling"

BY Allie GregoryPublished Aug 26, 2021

Lilly Wachowski, one-half of the sister duo that created the original Matrix films, has opened up about her decision to sit out directorial responsibilities on her sister Lana's fourth instalment of the series.

Appearing in Showtime's TCA panel on Wednesday (August 25), the filmmaker explained that a mixture of mourning the death of her parents and the prospect of having to revisit her old work made The Matrix 4 seem like an "emotionally unfulfilling" project. She also confessed that she has been less interested in sci-fi since transitioning and felt like she had "one foot out the door."

"There was something about the idea of going backwards and being a part of something that I had done before that was expressly unappealing," she said [via Collider].

Wachowski continued:

Like, I didn't want to have gone through my transition and gone through this massive upheaval in my life, the sense of loss from my mom and dad, to want to go back to something that I had done before and sort of walk over old paths that I had walked in, felt emotionally unfulfilling and really the opposite. Like I was going to go back and live in these old shoes in a way. And I didn't want to do that.

The director added that she needed time to "reconnect to [her]self as an artist," after wrapping several high-profile projects — including Sense8, Cloud Atlas and Jupiter Ascending. Instead of returning to filmmaking, she went back to school and sought out other activities like painting.

The Matrix Resurrections is currently due to arrive on December 22, after previously being bumped to 2022 due to pandemic-related delays.

The film sees the return of Keanu Reeves as Neo, Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe, Lambert Wilson as the Merovingian and Daniel Bernhardt as Agent Johnson. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Priyanka Chopra, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Ricci and more will also star.

Earlier this week, Warner Bros. previewed the film's cinematic trailer at its CinemaCon presentation. Here's what reportedly takes place in the opening sequences [via Deadline]:

The trailer begins with Neil Patrick Harris talking to Keanu Reeves' Neo. A near-future San Francisco. It appears that Neo is trapped in a humdrum world, much like his first self in the 1999 movie. He's just not getting his surroundings.

"Am I crazy?" asks Reeves' Neo. "We don't use that word in here," says Harris' therapist.

Reeves comes in contact with Carrie Anne Moss' Trinity in a cafe: "Have we met?" she asks Neo.

A shot of blue pills spilling into a sink, as Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" song plays.

Then a shot of Neo distorting into an old man in the mirror. A younger Morpheus tells Neo "time to fly," handing him a red pill.

 

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