'The Matrix' Reboot in the Works at Warner Bros.

[Jtbrig7390]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hea...edium=referral

The 1999 sci-fi movie is coming back.
More Matrix? Bet on it.

It’s still not clear what shape the project will take, but sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros. is in the early stages of developing a relaunch of The Matrix, the iconic 1999 sci-fi movie that is considered one of the most original films in cinematic history, with Zak Penn in talks to write a treatment.

Sources say there is potential interest in Michael B. Jordan to star, but much must be done before the project is ready to go.

At this point, the Wachowski siblings, who wrote and directed the original and its two sequels, are not involved and the nature of their potential engagement with a new version has not been determined. Certainly, Warners would want the two filmmakers to give at minimum a blessing to the nascent project.

Joel Silver, who produced the original trilogy, is said to have approached Warners about the idea of mining The Matrix for a potential new movie. However, Silver sold his interest in all his movies to the studio in 2012 for about $30 million, according to sources. The studio is said to be leery of including him in any meaningful role, as he not only has a reputation for budget-control issues, but apparently has a strained relationship with the Wachowskis. The siblings hold much more meaning for fans than the producer.

Written and directed by the Wachowskis when they went by Andy and Larry, the original movie sees humanity living in a simulated reality, unaware that humans are in pods in which their bodies are being harvested for energy. A computer programmer named Neo (Keanu Reeves) slowly becomes aware of this suppressed existence, eventually becoming humanity’s one true hope (Neo = One) to overthrow the oppressors. It also starred Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving.

The Matrix was released in a quiet period of the 1999 release calendar – March 31 – and Warners didn’t have outsized expectations for an action movie with obvious manga and comic-book influences. But the story and ground-breaking special effects (including the slow-motion "bullet time" effect, which launched dozens of imitators in the years that followed) became the highest grossing R-rated film of 1999 in North America, and the fourth-highest grossing film of the year worldwide. It also won four Academy Awards.

Two sequels, Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, were not as well received but Reeves’ deal for those films made him one of the richest actors in Hollywood.

While promoting John Wick Chapter Two, Reeves said he would be open to returning for another installment of the franchise if the Wachowskis were involved. “They would have to write it and direct it. And then we’d see what the story is, but yeah, I dunno, that’d be weird, but why not?” he said. However, it is likely that Warners will look elsewhere to attract an A-list director and star.

While some in Warners consider the title among the studio’s sacrosanct properties, such as Casablanca, others see a need to redevelop it in an environment where studios are desperately looking for ways to monetize their libraries and branded IP is hard to come by.

The idea of adapting Matrix as a television series was nixed in recent months. But Warners see a model in what Disney and Lucasfilm have done with Star Wars, exploring the hidden corners of the universe with movies such as Rogue One or the in-production young Han Solo film. Perhaps a young Morpheus movie could come out of the exploration, as an example.

Penn is a writer with deep roots in the geeky genres in which Matrix travels. He created the Syfy network’s super-powered show Alphas and has been involved in comic book movies ranging from the X-Men franchise to The Avengers.

Ummm please no, leave it be.

[RampageBW1]

They do not need to reboot the first one, just make a proper version of the sequels.

[Sky High]

Woah.....nooooo.

[Shadowferal]

There's only the one Matrix movie.
The two sequels never happened.
Ever.

That said...Zak Penn...? The same guy that wrote the Electra movie (How the fuck did he make ninjas boring?), and X-Men: The Last Stand...which was so bad it nearly killed the entire franchise. (and worse, we wanted it dead after seeing it)

Bad idea all around.

[TyrianFC]

Its a good idea with tons of potential.

The matrix universe has tons of potential for a quality reboot/remake. But of course it could go either way.

[Jokerfiend]

They had no idea where to go once they realized they were all brains in a jar. Neo is a god in that world but it doesn't matter.

Are you kidding me? Prequels galore...

[Frogguh]

How about we quit rebooting things that are fine and come up with original ideas? Or is Hollywood past that now?

[gyrados]

why hollywood jfc running out of ideas i take it hell make more alien space movies or w.e dont touch the great movies

[Addict]

Did they run out of money or somethging? let th efirst one be, fix the other 2 D:

[Gemini Soul]

A reboot/remake shouldn't happen, but they could go Harry Potter route with Fantastic Beast and show a previous version of Neo. They could also go Star Wars route and show how the Matrix came to be.

[endersblade]

How about we quit rebooting things that are fine and come up with original ideas? Or is Hollywood past that now?

Tell that to the music industry. Been doing that for decades.

[Shadowferal]

They need another writer.

[Aori]

I'm ok with them leaving it finished..

[Deleted]

A prequel trilogy would be cool.

[Aquinan]

A prequel trilogy, showing the fall of man would be cooler.

[supertigerlamp]

They aren't running out of ideas, they're attempting to bank on past popularity equaling future profits.

It's their contention that if you remake something that is already popular, it's a safer bet than investing in and introducing something completely knew and unknown, particularly when that seems to be very hit and miss. For every Harry Potter and The Matrix that were mega hits there are multiple "failures" like Eragon and Jupiter Ascending.

It's the same basic principle behind people often going to a restaurant and ordering the same thing (almost) every time. They know they like it, it's a safe bet, and if they get something different and don't like it, they just essentially "wasted" their money.

Movies that are one-offs, like Moonlight; La La Land; or any movie that is essentially NOT leaving the door open for a sequel/series tend to be either very low production costs, or have to involve people like Steven Spielberg who generally are "Can't Miss" creators that will almost invariably recoup any costs, even if the movie itself can't be heavily merchandised into toys, shirts, mobile apps. Though admit it, you'd have played a Schindler's List mobile game.

[Super Kami Dende]

A prequel trilogy would be cool.

Yeah, have you ever watched Animatrix? It shows the basic outline of what happened, would be pretty sweet to see it in full.

[Fincayra]

Are you kidding me? Prequels galore...

ikr. Making just the sequels killed it for me. I wanted to see the tension in the peace. I wanted to see the war we lost to machines. I wanted to see so much more. Animatrix was barely a taste. They basically gave up on billions of dollars by not capitalizing on their momentum and making more matrix movies.

[PACOX]

God no...

Remember when reboots were for really old movies or franchises that had bad starts?

I rather see a half ass sequel than a remake.

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A prequel trilogy, showing the fall of man would be cooler.

Now I would love to see that.

[Ethenil]

Unpopular opinion:

Matrix Reloaded is my favorite of the trilogy and Revolutions is pretty decent.