The co-director of the original Matrix trilogy has finally spoken about why she isn’t helming the newest entry in the mind-bending sci-fi action series.
When The Matrix: Resurrections – as it’s now officially called – was announced back in 2019, a few eyebrows certainly raised, given the belated nature of the planned fourth instalment, and that a few principal creatives would be missing too. Whilst the absence of Laurence Fishburne from the cast was a surprise to many, it was the fact that Lilly Wachowski, the trilogy’s co-creator and co-director, wasn’t involved that was perhaps the most surprising.
Wachowski has remained tight-lipped throughout the production of the film, but as we move towards the movie’s December release date and the inevitable gearing up of the marketing campaign, she has finally spoken out. It’s been reported that Lilly hasn’t spoken to her sister Lana, co-director of The Matrix series since production on Resurrections was completed, and whilst Wachowski didn’t directly address that in her statement, she did say this:
“There was something about the idea of going backwards and being a part of something that I had done before that was expressly unappealing. Like, I didn’t want to have gone through my transition and gone through this massive upheaval in my life, the sense of loss from my mom and dad, to want to go back to something that I had done before and sort of walk over old paths that I had walked in, felt emotionally unfulfilling and really the opposite. Like I was going to go back and live in these old shoes in a way. And I didn’t want to do that.”
Wachowski is referring to her gender transition and the loss of both of her parents, revealing powerful and very personal reasons for not wanting to rehash old projects when, on a personal and creative level, she was looking very much to try new things. It’s to her credit then, that she declined to return to her most successful creation, instead choosing to head in fresh directions. The Matrix: Resurrections will be in cinemas in December, With the first trailer airing at CinemaCon this week, we’d expect to see it land in general circulation pretty soon.
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