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Get ready to take the red pill: The Matrix is coming back
Wed, 21st Aug 2019
FYI, this story is more than a year old

“As you can see, we've had our eye on you for some time now, Mr. Anderson.”

It's official: Warner Bros Pictures and Lana Wachowski have cast have taken the red pill, and they're staying in Wonderland to see how deep the rabbit hole goes - yet again.

We're talking about The Matrix, of course. Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will be back in their roles as Neo (or Mr Anderson), and Trinity – beyond that, nobody is really saying who else from the main cast will be back.

There's also a notable absence of Lilly Wachowski is also notably absent from the production list as sibling Lana goes it alone.

“Many of the ideas Lilly and I explored 20 years ago about our reality are even more relevant now,” says Lana Wachowski.

“I'm very happy to have these characters back in my life and grateful for another chance to work with my brilliant friends.

The Matrix trilogy gained a huge following all the way back in 1999 when viewers were taken on a trip into a world that bends the very concept of what we know as reality.  We'll spare you the plot points, but suffice to say it was released on the cusp of a massive technological shift, the likes of which The Wachowskis couldn't have begin to imagine.

Four years later the series was back with The Matrix Reloaded, with The Matrix Revolutions rounding out the trilogy close behind. The Matrix Revolutions was also the first film ever to release simultaneously in every major country at the same hour around the world.

It's fair to say that while the followup films grossed big money at the box office, film buffs tend to look down on them as far inferior to the original. Certainly the original film gained the most notoriety (and the most quotable quotes) of all three films.

The Animatrix became an underrated backstory to The Matrix films and there were also game releases slotted in amongst the hype, so it will be interesting to see where Lana Wachowski and Warner take the story now.

“We could not be more excited to be re-entering The Matrix with Lana,” says Warner Bros Picture Group chairman Toby Emmerich.

“Lana is a true visionary—a singular and original creative filmmaker—and we are thrilled that she is writing, directing and producing this new chapter in The Matrix universe.

And if you're sceptical that a new film could be anywhere near as interesting as the original, you can always take the blue pill, wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe.

There's no word on when production will begin for the latest film. If you need your fix of pop culture history, The Matrix trilogy is currently screening on Netflix – although we bet at least someone you know has it on Blu-Ray or DVD.