Whoa! It goes without saying that Keanu Reeves' role as Neo for the Wachowskis' philosophical sci-fi epic, THE MATRIX, is one of the defining moments of his career, but did you know that at one time BIRD BOX star Sandra Bullock was considered to arrive as The One? It's true! At least that's what THE MATRIX producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told The Wrap in a recent interview. According to di Bonaventura, Warner Bros. was looking to land a notable name for the Wachowskis' iconic saga, with big time Hollywood royalty the likes of Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Will Smith once being a part of the mix.
“We went out to so many people I don’t remember. We were getting desperate,” di Bonaventura said. “We went to Sandy Bullock and said ‘We’ll change Neo to a girl.’ [Producer] Joel Silver and I worked with Sandy on ‘Demolition Man’ and she was and continues to be a very good friend of mine. It was pretty simple. We sent her the script to see if she was interested in it. And if she was interested in it we would try to make the change.”
“It just wasn’t something for her at the time. So really it didn’t go anywhere,” di Bonaventura then added.
When asked to comment on this distant opportunity, a representative of Bullock's said that while she doesn't recall the specifics of the offer, she remembers that di Bonaventura was always in her corner and was a big fan of her evolving talents. She also remarked that, ultimately, casting Reeves was the right call.
While hearing that the powers that be were willing to gender-swap the part of Neo to land Bullock in the role might be enough to blow your hair back, I feel like this is as good a time as any to mention that she almost starred as Trinity as well. As The Wrap points out, Bullock told NBC's Today that she was offered the part and regretted not taking it. After viewing the film, Bullock told her hosts that she was thrilled the studio had chosen Carrie-Anne Moss for the part. She then added, “It was sexy and great because of Carrie-Anne and Keanu.”
After reading di Bonaventura's recollections about the casting process for THE MATRIX, it feels like a damn miracle that the film came together at all. “The first movie star who says yes is Brad Pitt, he’s doing ‘Seven Years in Tibet’ and then he’s coming out of it and he’s like ‘I’m way too exhausted to take this on,’ so he’s gone,” di Bonaventura said. “Then we go to Leonardo [DiCaprio]. He says yes, we have meetings with him and then he goes, ‘You know, I can’t go do another visual effects movie having just finished ‘Titanic,” and he drops out. Then Will Smith joins it and he drops out.”
Oh, and if you think the above statement is some crazy version of Musical Casting Chairs, what would you say if I told you that Arnold Schwarzenegger was also considered for the role of Morpheus? I know, this rabbit hole just keeps getting stranger. “We went to Arnold Scwarzeneger hoping he’d say yes for Morpheus. We to Michael Douglas for Morpheus.” Douglas, too? What the what?
“Along the way we realized how hard it was what we were doing. Here were these young guys who had done one movie, and they were going to direct this very hard-to-understand script,” he continued. “The good news was, Keanu said yes and he was awesome.”
The fact of the matter is that before THE MATRIX went on to become a pop culture touchstone after earning $463.5 million at the worldwide box office, Warner Bros. was biting their nails over the decision to cast Reeves, as they remained unconvinced that his star power could elevate the film to their desired heights.
“I don’t think I would change anything. The bigger the star, the more likely the studio was to say yes. So we started with the very biggest and got to Keanu and he gave us the momentum,” di Bonaventura said. “The truth is, that movie rises or falls on those four.”
I'll say it again, whoa! It's been a dog's age since I've revisited THE MATRIX, though I can't imagine the film without its main players. What do you think about all of this madness? How game-changing would it have been to cast Bullock as Neo? Would you accept a red or blue pill from a tenchcoat-clad Schwarzenegger? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.