Yahya Abdul-Mateen-II (Aquaman, Candyman) has been confirmed as the character Morpheus in the upcoming fourth installment of The Matrix franchise, The Matrix Resurrections. However, in a new interview with British GQ, Abdul Mateen II states that his Morpheus may not be the same as the one made famous by actor Laurence Fishburne.

Abdul-Mateen II is seen in the trailer for The Matrix Resurrections sporting the glasses made famous by Fishburne in the original Matrix trilogy, even going as far as to offer Neo (Keanu Reeves) once again a red pill or a blue pill, just as Fishburne’s Morpheus did. He’s even seen in a dojo where Abdul-Mateen II fighting Reeves, mirroring an identical sequence between Fishburne and Reeves.

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Image via Warner Bros.

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In the interview, Abdul-Mateen II was asked about his character and how he may connect to Fishburne's character:

“The character’s called Morpheus,’ [Abdul-Mateen II] corrects me, fast. There is some consternation online about why Laurence Fishburne, the original Morpheus, is not playing the character called Morpheus, given Keanu Reeves is back as Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. Has he spoken to Fishburne? ‘By the time this interview comes out, I would have. I want to.’ It should be pointed out that Fishburne has not only been very gracious in the build-up to this fourth film, but also that, if you go by strict ‘Matrix’ folklore, namely a video game called ‘The Matrix Online,’ Morpheus is actually dead. ‘It will make sense when it comes out,’ says Abdul-Mateen, who is playing Morpheus but is not Morpheus.”

As pointed out, in The Matrix Online, Fishburne's Morpheus is dead, having been assassinated for resisting the machines and demanding the return of Neo's body following The Matrix Revolutions, leading to a fake Morpheus program to restart the conflict between Humanity and the Machines. However, it's not known if this is the story that The Matrix Resurrections will follow.

The Matrix Resurrections opens on December 22 in theaters and on HBO Max.