We live in a box office climate dominated by sequels, reboots, and remakes. A known property is a much safer bet for a studio than an original film, and even when one original idea somehow makes it through the pipeline and proves to be a massive success (eg. Inception), it’s singled out as an anomaly rather than incentive to generate more original properties. As such, the major studios are always on the hunt for ways to reboot or extend franchises, and if a new report is to be believed, one such property destined for a kickstart just might be a new trilogy of The Matrix films. Hit the jump to read on.
The folks over at Latino Review are reporting that writers/directors Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski are currently developing a new trilogy of Matrix films, with treatments and outlines already being handed into the studio. Whether these new movies will be sequels or prequels is unclear, as is whether they’ll also be directed by the Wachowski Siblings. However, it’s important to take all of this news with a grain of salt. LR’s track record has been spotty as of late, so there’s no telling whether the Wachowski Siblings are actively working on a trilogy of Matrix films or if this is nothing more than a rumor gone awry. Personally, I think this all sounds rather dubious.
That being said, it’s not hard to imagine Warner Bros. being keen on more Matrix films. The studio has been loyal to the Wachowskis for years, but the brother/sister duo’s post-Matrix films Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas, although excellent, have failed to catch the same amount of box office success. They’re aiming high with this summer’s Jupiter Ascending, another large-scale sci-fi/adventure pic much more in the vein of The Matrix than their other recent features, but who knows whether audiences will turn out for something so wholly original (not to mention weird) in a box office climate dominated by explosions and deadly serious superheroes.
The original Matrix film was a groundbreaking work of science-fiction in 1999, and though its two sequels failed to live up to the same creative heights as the first pic, there was something admirably ambitious about where the Wachowskis took the franchise in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. Do we need another Matrix movie? Probably not, but if anyone can make the prospect of a new trilogy enticing it’s the involvement of the Wachowski Siblings themselves. Hopefully this rumor can be cleared up one way or another soon.
