When Lana Wachowski digs her heels into the action of her highly-anticipated Matrix sequel, she'll do so with the help of stunt extraordinaires Chad Stahelski and David Leitch. Both gentlemen were present when orchestrating stunts for the original Matrix trilogy, with Stahelski even serving as a double for Keanu Reeves during Neo's wild ride into the unknown. Knowing that the trio are reuniting for the sequel is something that's had Matrix fans salivating for updates to the franchise's signature "bullet time" sequences, as well as any other tricks that the film has up its black trench coat-clad sleeves.
Recently while participating in a live interview for Collider Connected, Stahelski and Leitch detailed their involvement with the new film, in addition to teasing some of what fans can expect when Neo, Trinity and their compatriots dive back into the technological rabbit hole.
“It’s definitely, from what I know of it, it’s incredibly fun,” Stahelski said. “I think if you’re a fan of the original trilogy you’re gonna love this. Coming back with a vengeance.”
During the chat, Stahelski was quick to clarify that he and Leitch's participation is mostly conceptual as opposed to acting as an official second unit on the film. One of the reasons for this is because Wachowski prefers to direct her own action sequences, and is keen to blowing viewer's minds with what she has planned.
“It’s more about the creative concept of some of the choreography and backing them up with stuff. Other than the Matrixes, most of their stuff…what makes [Lana] so great is she directs her own action. We’ve had second unit directors on some of the Matrixes just because of the logistics involved. But of late, and especially on Matrix 4, she’s directing her own action. The second units for them are mostly establishing shots, the B-sides of the some of the compositions for some locations. But Lana, she does her own action. She weaves it into the main unit stuff, which is why their stuff looks so good.”
Stahelski also pointed out that THE MATRIX 4 is very much a reunion of sorts, as its production is comprised almost entirely of crew members from the original trilogy.
They were really cool. They asked us to help out with the choreography and some of the physical training for the guys. I’m helping out a little bit for a sequence, I think Dave’s helping out for a sequence. Lana’s come back with a lot of love to have a pseudo-family reunion, so that’s been a lot of fun. It’s been good to see a lot of the crew members again. We just finished doing a sequence in San Francisco before the pandemic started.
The fourth Matrix film will see Reeves, Moss, and Jada Pinkett Smith reprising their roles as Neo, Trinity and Niobe, respectively. Joining them are Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who is rumored to be playing a young Morpheus, Priyanka Chopra, Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, and Toby Onwumere. Additionally, it was recently teased that Lambert Wilson could return as the villain of the film, Merovingian.
Despite shutting down production in March amid COVID-19 concerns, THE MATRIX 4 remains as one of the most anticipated films that's yet to come. Don't be surprised if you see pop culture fashion outlets like Hot Topic cashing in on the return of this hallowed franchise, complete with long coats, stylish eyewear, and plenty of reasons to brood about the future of the human race.
We'll be sure to bring you more updates related to THE MATRIX 4 as they're made available.