mobanmarketSci-fi franchise ‘The Matrix’ will return for a fourth film with Keanu Reeves reprising his role as kung fu-kicking, shades-wearing hero Neo, studio Warner Bros said Tuesday.
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Lana Wachowski will helm the project, returning to write, direct and produce the latest instalment of the hugely popular series about humans trapped in a virtual reality by machines, which has netted more than $1.6 billion worldwide.
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“We could not be more excited to be re-entering ‘The Matrix’ with Lana,” studio chairman Toby Emmerich said in a statement.
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“Lana is a true visionary — a singular and original creative filmmaker,” he added.
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Lana and her sister Lilly — who were formerly known as the Wachowski brothers, Andy and Larry, before switching gender — directed the original trilogy.
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Warner Bros did not specify if the new film would be a direct sequel, saying only that it was “set in the world of ‘The Matrix’,” and did not give a release date.
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The original films followed a band of rebels who battled intelligent machines in a future where humans are enslaved within the Matrix — a virtual reality that resembles the contemporary world.
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Reeves’ Neo was a hero on a mission to save mankind.
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The dark fantasy featured a mix of pseudo-eastern philosophy and Western mythology, spectacular fight scenes and lavish special effects.
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“Many of the ideas Lilly and I explored 20 years ago about our reality are even more relevant now,” said Lana Wachowski.
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“I’m very happy to have these characters back in my life and grateful for another chance to work with my brilliant friends.”
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Carrie-Anne Moss will also return to her role as Trinity, the studio said Tuesday.
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The original film turns 20 this year, with special screenings planned in the US later this month.
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The third film in the series, ‘The Matrix Revolutions’ (2003), was the first film to be released simultaneously around the world at the same hour.
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