The Matrix 4 has emerged from its COVID-19 induced delay and is now shooting in Berlin. The project still has an air of mystery to it, though, with many unanswered questions as to how Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss can reprise the roles of Neo and Trinity after both characters died on screen in The Matrix Revelations. The current theory is that though their flesh-and-blood bodies died, their minds were uploaded digitally and they lived on as programs in the rebooted Matrix.
But new pictures of Reeves may indicate that something very different is afoot. Images and videos from the San Francisco shoot earlier this year showed the actor with the long hair and beard that have become his trademark since the John Wick series. Now, however, in the shots below, we see him sporting a buzz cut and a clean-shaven face.
This will be a familiar look to fans of the franchise, as it’s reminiscent of how Neo appeared immediately after he was disconnected from the Matrix in the 1999 original. If The Matrix 4 really does show that he unplugged once more, it raises all kinds of queries about what’s going on. For instance, did the entirety of the first trilogy take place in a Matrix within a Matrix? Have the machines somehow grown Neo a fresh body from his DNA and plan to download his consciousness into it? And is Reeves even playing Neo, or is he just another character with the same body?
I suspect we won’t get definite answers for a while yet. Still, whatever’s being cooked up here has a big thumbs up from Reeves. In an interview with Empire Magazine, he said that he initially had doubts about returning to arguably his most iconic role, but explained that:
“Lana Wachowski wrote a beautiful script and a wonderful story that resonated with me. That’s the only reason to do it. To work with her again is just amazing. It’s been really special, and the story has, I think, some meaningful things to say, and that we can take some nourishment from.”
The Matrix 4 will now hit theaters on December 22nd, 2021. Let’s hope we get a trailer that sheds light on the plot sooner rather than later.
