Will Smith sparked speculation about joining the next Matrix movie, but insiders have confirmed he won’t appear in the sequel.
Will Smith left fans bewildered earlier this week when he posted a short clip on Instagram that suggested he may have some connection to the upcoming Matrix movie. But, contrary to earlier discussions with fans, insiders have said that the actor will not feature in the next instalment sequel of the famous sci-fi series.
On Monday, January 6, Smith posted a short video revisiting a well-known Hollywood “what-if” story: the moment when he rejected an offer to play Neo (The Matrix) in 1997 because he decided to act in Wild Wild West. The clip that was released included a text overlay that hinted at the ‘follow the white rabbit’ computer scene from the original Matrix film and asked the world: What if Will Smith had been Neo? It concluded with a mysterious prompt: “Wake up, Will… The Matrix has you…”
The post left fans assuming that Smith might have finally signed up to be in The Matrix universe. However, insiders informed The Hollywood Reporter that Smith is not going to star in a new Matrix venture that was promised last year, by Warner Bros. and writer-director Drew Goddard.
Despite the recent news about the new Matrix film being quite vague, the information in Smith’s video is not relevant to this project. Several base fans that the teaser could be related to a commercial for the next Super Bowl rather than to a movie role.
At least for now, it appears that the universe where Will Smith agreed to don the trench coat and shades of Neo will remain a delicious tease of the ‘what if’ variety.