‘The Matrix Resurrections’: Keanu Reeves Only Agreed to Return Under 1 Condition
Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss returning for The Matrix Resurrections was big news. Fans of the original sci-fi trilogy were curious as to how the story would continue after The Matrix Revolutions. However, the leading man initially agreed with that concerned sentiment. Reeves explained that he only returned for The Matrix Resurrections for a specific reason.
‘The Matrix Resurrections’ makes fun of a sequel to the trilogy
The Matrix Resurrections takes place quite sometime after the original trilogy. Neo (Reeves) is now living in San Francisco under the name Thomas A. Anderson. His path crosses with Trinity (Moss), although neither of them recognizes one another. Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) offers Neo a red pill and a chance to save his one true love.
Neo works as a game designer at a top gaming company. The Matrix Resurrections shows his business partner (Jonathan Groff), who talks about how Warner Bros. wants another installment. Even though Thomas doesn’t want to go through with a sequel, the studio was going to do one regardless of their involvement. A board meeting further goes down this path, as an executive explains how there could even be more sequels in the future.
Keanu Reeves only agreed to return for ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ under a specific condition
The Sydney Morning Herald interviewed Reeves to talk about The Matrix Resurrections. Apparently, Warner Bros. executives were the only parties to want another installment in the franchise. Reeves said that “other agents” approached him to join another series, but he only wanted to return if filmmakers Lilly and Lana Wachowski signed off on it.
“For me, I had a hesitancy in being involved in something that wasn’t signed off by the Wachowskis,” Reeves said. “So I was grateful and thrilled when Lana gave me a call.”
Wachowski’s involvement and her direction brought Reeves back for The Matrix Resurrections. It’s unlikely that he would have returned if it weren’t for that personal connection to the original trilogy and to the audience.
Reeves continued: “It was all about the love story. [Lana’s] desire to bring Neo and Trinity together again, and the feeling that it could be good medicine for her, for the story, and, potentially, for the audience.”
Keanu Reeves answers the question of nostalgia
The Matrix Resurrections is certainly meta. It addresses the real-life implications of the franchise and its relevance in pop culture and society. The Morning Herald talked about the nostalgia in The Matrix Resurrections with Reeves. He had a very specific take regarding how it related to the newest sequel.
“I don’t think the film is nostalgic about its nostalgia,” Reeves said. “And it’s not romantic. It really asks us to investigate the past and how we feel about it and where we are in the present. I think that’s good for us to think about – for the pleasures and comforts of nostalgia, but also for the taking stock of, ‘OK, that happened. And now here we are’, or ‘Oh s***, we’re making the same mistakes again’.”
