While You Were Watching Rachel Maddow, The Matrix Got a Reboot

Zak Penn, who helped Joss Whedon with the story for The Avengers and co-wrote Steven Spielberg’s upcoming sci-fi tentpole Ready Player One, is now in talks with Warner Bros.to write the treatment for a new film.

With the stage set for a return to the dystopian future depicted in the original, the question remains, SHOULD Warner Bros. reboot the franchise?

With regards to the Wachowskis, both writers and directors of the original Matrix Trilogy, they are now not involved.

The Matrix was one of the most innovative and creative films to hit the silver screen back in 1999. For this potential reboot, one of the movie’s lead characters will reportedly take its cue from actor Michael B. Jordan.

Another factor that is likely to upset fans is that Reeves – who portrayed Neo – is also not involved in The Matrix reboot right now. Not necessarily. Recently while promoting John Wick: Chapter 2, Reeves said that he would be open to doing another Matrix film, BUT only if the Wachowskis were involved. THR notes that Warner Bros. may be “leery of including him” because of a reputation for budget control and his apparent distant relationship with the Wachowskis. Now, it looks like Warner Bros.is about to reboot the groundbreaking franchise.

In retrospect, it was probably just a matter of time before Warner Bros. tried to dust off and reload The Matrix. He told Yahoo! Movies, “They would have to write it and direct it”. The trilogy also starred Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. Though obviously inspired by earlier comics, cartoons, books, and films, The Matrix was entirely its own thing; it wasn’t directly based on anything. In 1999, the compelling plotline and (then) never-before-seen special effects made the film the highest-grossing R-rated movie of the year in North America, and the fourth-highest grossing film of the year the world over.

THR revealed that X-Men: The Last Stand author Zak Penn is being considered to write the film.