When news broke that Lana Wachowski was making The Matrix 4, the collective reaction from fans was a mix of excitement and apprehension. It’s been 17 years since both The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions came out and to say they haven’t aged well would be an understatement.
But considering the comeback Keanu Reeves has enjoyed with the John Wick franchise, there seems to be more anticipation for another Matrix film than originally thought. One reason to be encouraged is the involvement of David Leitch and Chad Stahelski. Now known for directing action movies like Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2 and Hobbs & Shaw, the two filmmakers have a long history with the Wachowskis and The Matrix world.
They were both stunt coordinators on the two sequels and Stahelski was Reeves’ stunt double on the first two. The pair recently spoke about being involved in The Matrix 4, and now Stahelski is sharing a little more information about his collaboration with Wachowski and the way her brain works in regards to action.
“She comes with this idea. She comes with this set piece. She comes with, ‘This is the character. This is what’s happening. This is the conflict. This is where I need him to be emotionally or psychologically or whatever plot-wise at the end of this sequence. What do you got in your bag of tricks to make it absolutely crazy?’ She’s one of those great people that she’ll tell us something and we’ll say, ‘Okay, we’ve got this.’ Then she’s like, ‘Oh my God, that’s awesome. I didn’t think of that, but what if we took this and made it this?’”
Action has never been a problem for the Matrix films. The original was obviously revolutionary in how the set pieces were put together, but even the sequels have some iconic sequences. The freeway chase in Reloaded is one of the best car chases ever put to film.
But it ultimately comes down to the story. Wachowski has had nearly 20 years to come up with something that’s a worthy successor to the original film, and according to Stahelski, the new sequel is definitely something to look forward to.
“She always kind of one-ups you and that’s a challenge. She’s probably still the most challenging person, in a good way, that I’ve ever worked with… If you love the Matrix trilogy, you’re going to love what she’s doing because she’s brilliant and fun and understands what the fans want.”
Production on The Matrix 4 is still on hold due to the pandemic, but as of now, it’s set for release on May 21st, 2021.