Jessica Henwick’s star is on the rise, and the studios in Hollywood seem to know it. Having broken out in her role as Nymeria Sand in Game of Thrones, the actress — next seen in December’s The Matrix Resurrections — has racked up a number of parts since, from starring in films like Love and Monsters and making an appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens to joining the casts of both Knives Out 2 and Blade Runner: Black Lotus. But, it’s not always easy being a rising star, a job that involves making tough and possibly career-changing choices.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Henwick revealed that, when up for the part of Bugs in the latest installment of the Matrix franchise, she had also had the opportunity to star in another film that would prove to be a major box office success: Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. While it is unknown what part she was offered to audition for, the actress revealed that both Disney and Warner Bros., the studio producing Resurrections, gave her an ultimatum: that she, with her growing star power, could only audition for one.
She describes the choice as a “red-pill/blue-pill moment” for her, referencing the iconic Matrix scene in which Keanu Reeves’ Neo is forced to choose between living comfortably and learning the truth of the Matrix. It certainly seems like a hefty choice, between two major studios with no guarantee of landing a role, but her choice seems to have worked out for her, landing a part which she considers to be “the audience’s eyes” back into the world of the Matrix after so many years, even despite the knowledge that Shang-Chi performed shockingly well at the box office.
Though perhaps it’s for the best that the Matrix star went with Warner Bros. over Disney. With rumors swirling that characters introduced in Marvel’s Netflix series, like Daredevil and The Punisher, could be entering the MCU, playing a role in Shang-Chi might have meant that Henwick’s face would appear twice in the same universe, as she had previously joined a Marvel project to play Colleen Wing in two seasons of Iron Fist. However, it wouldn’t be the first time that had happened — Eternals star Gemma Chan had previously entered the MCU as Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel, before starring in the Chloe Zhao-directed epic as Sersi.
Fans can see Henwick alongside Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, Christina Ricci, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jonathan Groff, among others, when The Matrix Resurrections hits theaters and HBO Max on December 22.