While plot details for The Matrix 4 are currently unknown, Neil Patrick Harris has shared some details on the film’s unique production. Harris, who joined the acclaimed sci-fi franchise last year, didn’t feel like he working on a traditional blockbuster because franchise co-creator Lana Wachowski made the filming feel “very intimate.”
The newest installment in the Matrix franchise is being directed by Wachowski and will see Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss reprise their roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively. Jada Pinkett Smith, who played Niobe in the second and third films, is also returning. The loaded ensemble cast includes franchise newcomers Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen), Jessica Henwick (Game of Thrones), Jonathan Groff (Hamilton), and Priyanka Chopra (Baywatch).
The highly-anticipated sequel reportedly wrapped shooting in Berlin months ago after a months-long hiatus due to the pandemic. The Matrix 4 comes 18 years after The Matrix Revolutions and The Matrix Reloaded, and 21 years after the first film was released. The franchise received wide acclaim for its slow-motion effects and complex action sequences. Collectively, the trilogy earned more than $1.6 billion at the global box office.
Last summer, The Matrix franchise's lead star Keanu Reeves told Empire Magazine that the only reason he signed on to the upcoming sequel was that Wachowski’s script was written “beautifully” and resonated “deeply” with him. The writer-director has drawn compliments from many in the cast.
On Variety’s podcast Just For Variety, Neil Patrick Harris stated, “the productions didn’t feel large because it felt like she [Wachowski] was in her sweet spot, which was filming on the fly, filming using natural light.” He added, “You would think that a giant movie would be 100% storyboarded, animatics, and we’d be checking off shots. I think she lived that before three times over, and I would suspect that she wants to do things her own way now. It wasn’t often that you felt that you were doing something gigantic because she made it feel very intimate.”
Harris has last seen in Russell T. Davies’ It’s a Sin, an HBO Max limited series that followed a group of gay friends at the start of the AIDS epidemic. Meanwhile, Wachowski hasn’t released a film since 2015’s Jupiter Ascending, which notably received harsh reviews from critics and grossed $47 million domestically on a $176 million budget.
The Matrix 4 is scheduled to hit theaters and HBO Max on December 22, 2021.
Source: Variety