RUMOR MILL: This is just unsubstantiated RUMOR, so take it all with a grain of salt for the time being.
Buzz is flying that Lana Wachowski is returning to helm a new film set in the (virtual) reality of ‘The Matrix’. Lana and Lilly Wachowski created the revolutionary film franchise which kicked off in 1999, followed by two sequels which both released in 2003. (At that time, Lana and Lilly Wachowski were billed as “The Wachowski Brothers” under their birth names Lawrence (Lana) and Andrew (Lilly).) Lana may handle this film alone, or be tackling it with Lilly. For whatever reason, Lana’s involvement is being stressed.
This is not believed to be a reboot, but a return to that same artificial reality, where humanity has been enslaved by intelligent computers, who have locked them in pods to be used as a resource. In these pods, people “dream” of living in a day-to-day world that doesn’t really exist. Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving starred in all three installments, with Jada Pinkett Smith joining for the sequels.
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However, RUMOR has it that Lana Wachowski’s new film will star Michael B. Jordan. Two years ago, it was rumored that Jordan was set to appear as a young Morpheus in a prequel, so that could still be the case. It was announced last year that Zak Penn (‘Ready Player One’) is writing the script.
Last week, Production Weekly listed this project as due to begin filming in 2020 in Chicago, under the name ‘Project Ice Cream’.
It’s unclear whether or not there is really an audience for this. The first ‘Matrix’ was without a doubt, incredibly influential, as nearly every action movie to come out in the twenty years since, has borrowed from it– the slo-mo movements, the swinging camera angles, the techno music, etc.
But the two sequels were duds, not just in terms of the box office, but viewer reception. So there may or may not be enough nostalgia to justify exhuming this brand.
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Professionally speaking, the Wachowskis have never replicated the success of the first ‘Matrix’. They followed it with box office disasters ‘Speed Racer’, ‘Cloud Atlas‘, and ‘Jupiter Ascending‘. (I will admit, I actually loved ‘Speed Racer’, but I know I’m the only one.) Their ambitious Netflix series Sense8 was much more successful, but proved too expensive to continue, so it was canceled.
Once again, this is just a RUMOR for now. But still… let’s keep this simple:
Source: Discussing Film
