Whoa! While Keanu Reeves readies his return to Pixar’s Toy Story franchise, fans of the shoot-em-up, time-traveling actor want to know if he’ll return to the bullet time action-fest that helped make him a household name, The Matrix. It’s been two years since filmmaker Drew Goddard announced his intention to make The Matrix 5, but updates on the project have been scarce, if not nonexistent. Thankfully, Goddard recently spoke with ScreenRant about the status of a fifth Matrix movie, saying a fifth chapter of the heady sci-fi blockbuster franchise is “still in the works.”
Goddard is Still Writing The Matrix 5
“I’m in my writing cave, writing,” Goddard told ScreenRant. “I don’t know how long I’ll be in that writing cave, but whenever I come out, I’ll have news to share.”
In 2024, Warner Bros executive Jesse Ehrman said The Matrix 5 “will advance the fantasy world without straying too far from what made the series a success.” For the moment, there are no details about the potential plot or production schedule for The Matrix 5. We don’t even know if Matrix mainstays like Keanu Reeves or Carrie-Anne Moss would return for another chapter of the story.
How to Expand the Matrix Franchise Without Neo or Trinity
If Goddard is talking about expanding the franchise, The Matrix 5 could shift the focus away from Neo (Reeves) and Trinity (Moss). We’ve seen this before, with The Animatrix, a 2003 animated anthology telling different Matrix-related stories. While I’m not sure how a Matrix movie without Neo or Trinity as the main characters would go over with audiences, I’m more than willing to give it a shot. As someone who loves The Animatrix and likes it when filmmakers try new things (even if they fail), I think it would be cool to see new characters come face to face with the startling concepts presented after taking a red pill.
Drew Goddard’s next project is serving as an executive producer on Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Project Hail Mary, a sci-fi space thriller starring Ryan Gosling, based on the novel by Andy Weir, author of The Martian. In Project Hail Mary, science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship light-years from Earth. As his memory returns, he uncovers a mission to stop a mysterious substance that is killing the sun and saving Earth. Along his journey, an unexpected friendship may be the key. Project Hail Mary comes to theaters on March 20, 2026.
