Warner Bros. is , and this time Drew Goddard is leading the charge. Goddard, the fan-favorite writer-director whose credits include and has been tapped to write and direct a new feature for the studio, Warners announced Wednesday. This will be the first film not to directly involve creators Lana and Lilly Wachowski, though will act as an executive producer on the new installment. Plot details are being kept hidden on the Nebuchadnezzar, though the studio said Goddard approached the company with a new take to extend the franchise. “Drew came to Warner Bros. with a new idea that we all believe would be an incredible way to continue the Matrix world, by both honoring what Lana and Lilly began over 25-years ago and offering a unique perspective based on his own love of the series and characters,” said Warner Bros. Motion Pictures president of production Jesse Ehrman in a statement. “The entire team at Warner Bros. Discovery is thrilled for Drew to be making this new film, adding his vision to the cinematic canon the Wachowskis’ spent a quarter of a century building here at the studio.” Released just over 25 years ago, swept the imaginations of audiences with a mind-bending story, envelope-pushing special effects, and a defining performance from Keanu Reeves. Co-written and co-directed by the Wachowskis, the film revealed how our world was a simulated reality with humans actually being used as batteries for intelligent machines and how one messiah-like figure named Neo was chosen to lead a rebellion. Introducing the idea of “bullet time” as a special effect concept, the movie earned
Oscars for best visual effect, best editing, best sound, and best sound editing. The movie, grossing $467 million worldwide at the time, became a pop culture touchstone for years afterwards and made Reeves a $20 million player. and were released back to back in 2003 to mixed reviews and uneven
box office. grossed $741 million, reflecting intense interest in the franchise, while made $427 million, showing the growing disappointment of what audiences felt was visual effects being prioritized over story. Still, loomed large over pop culture and Lana Wachowski returned to the franchise in 2021 with . That one, however, seemed like the end of the line for Neo as the movie grossed only $159 million worldwide amid a day-and-date release on streaming and pandemic challenges in theaters. The studio clearly had other plans. Goddard has the genre cred to tackle something such as the . He began his career writing on the 90’s hit series and worked on shows and he created Netflix’s Marvel show , and was an exec producer on the acclaimed dramedy , which dealt with fantasy-like worlds that may or may not be heaven and hell and featured an architect figure. On the feature side, Goddard wrote the monster movie as well as horror-genre blending , on which he also made his directorial debut. And he earned an Oscar nomination for penning , the hit space drama directed by Ridley Scott that starred
Matt Damon. “It is not hyperbole to say films changed both cinema and my life,” said Goddard in a statement. “Lana and Lilly’s exquisite artistry inspires me on a daily basis, and I am beyond grateful for the chance to tell stories in their world.” THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day More from The
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