The new Matrix project isn’t a reboot or remake, might be a prequel

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Last week, the news broke that Warner Bros. was considering "rebooting" the MATRIX franchise. "Reboot" being an over-used term with various meanings, its use here immediately had a lot of fans jumping to the conclusion that any new projects might wipe out the events of the existing films and try to start over. Instead, it actually seems like "reboot" in this instance merely means bringing back a series that has been dormant for more than a decade. As the initial report said, WB appears to be taking an approach to THE MATRIX that's similar to how Disney is digging into the characters and mythology of STAR WARS to make films that expand the property beyond the trilogies saga.

Someone who really took issue with the "reboot" term is writer Zak Penn, who is currently writing a MATRIX treatment for WB. He took to his Twitter account to let fans know that both "reboot" and "remake" are inaccurate descriptions for the project he's working on, pointing to the MATRIX comic book series and the ANIMATRIX anime anthology as examples of what's going on here – "more stories set in the universe of THE MATRIX".

All I can say at this point is no one could or should REBOOT the Matrix. People who know Animatrix and the comics understand.

— Zak Penn (@zakpenn) March 15, 2017

Do I want to see more stories set in the universe of the matrix? Yes. Because it's a brilliant idea that generates great stories.

— Zak Penn (@zakpenn) March 17, 2017

The original report gave an example of one story that could come out of this further exploration of the MATRIX universe: a prequel focusing on a young Morpheus. Sources also said that Warner Bros. was interested in approaching Michael B. Jordan to star in the new MATRIX film. According to Birth Movies Death, the prequel example and the Jordan casting rumor actually go hand-in-hand – topping the list of the new MATRIX projects being considered by Warner Bros. is a Morpheus prequel that could have Jordan taking over the role originated by Laurence Fishburne.

That's not the only idea being considered, though, and Penn isn't the only writer involved. Warner Bros. is said to have assembled a writer's room to get multiple people brainstorming all sorts of MATRIX movie ideas. There could be a whole lot more MATRIX coming our way.