by Benjamin Haines » Wed Aug 21, 2019 2:29 pm
I'd rather they tackle something original, or a different franchise adaptation, or pretty much anything other than The Matrix 4 of all things. That ship has long since sailed.
Reloaded and Revolutions may not hold a candle to the original but they brought the saga to a definitive conclusion. The Matrix was a buzzy hit in 1999 which reverberated through pop culture. It only grew in popularity and led to a fever pitch of hype for the two sequels in 2003. Those films were distinct products of their time and any fourth movie in 2020 or later will just feel like an outlier, a footnote that arrived far too late.
I want new Matrix movies like I want new Terminator movies, which is to say not at all. Not every once-popular franchise needs to revived. Sure, it's harder than ever to get moviegoers to pay to see original works but brand awareness alone doesn't mean there's audience demand for more movies from that brand. We've seen this play out before with unrequested legacy sequels like Independence Day: Resurgence, Terminator: Genisys and Inferno. We've seen this play out with forgotten remakes like Point Break (2015), Conan (2011) and The Mummy (2017). Just because people flocked to the earlier entries doesn't mean those same people will flock to sequels or remakes decades later, and just because kids in '99-'03 thought The Matrix was the coolest thing ever doesn't mean that kids in 2021 will be just as taken with it. Who really wants The Matrix 4 to be a thing?