The Matrix 4 won’t have Hugo Weaving, who played the villain Agent Smith, but now fans believe Jonathan Groff will take on the role in his place.
Agent Smith’s death was implied in The Matrix Revolutions (2003). His body, including his clones, were shown as destroyed and deleted in the final minutes of the film. But with the upcoming fourth installment, fans think Agent Smith will still return along with Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss).
According to Screen Rant, signs point to the possibility that Groff will play the younger version of the villain. Fans believe that Agent Smith was recast just like Morpheus, who was previously played by Laurence Fishburne. The character will reportedly be played by a younger actor, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, in The Matrix 4.
The Wachowski sisters said that they plan on having Agent Smith in The Matrix 4 despite Weaving’s absence. Theories abound that this movie will be set in an alternative world, making the character’s return possible.
Weaving invited back for the fourth movie
But Weaving revealed that he had discussions to join The Matrix 4 with writer and director Lana Wachowski. However, the negotiations fell through.
“I thought we could have done my scenes in May, June and July; and we talked about money and we talked about — they were negotiating,” Weaving said in an interview with Coming Soon. “We were all pretty much sorted and agreed on dates and it was all fine, but then Lana decided she didn’t think it was going to work. So, she pulled the plug on the negotiations.”
Weaving said that he had prior commitments with the National Theater in London; thus he asked for those specific dates from Wachowski. The director thought his schedule would not work with the movie’s production.
The actor also said that he had some problems with the script. Ultimately, however, it was his schedule that prevented him from rejoining the production.
Reeves teased of ‘a beautiful story’
Meanwhile, Reeves praised Wachowski for coming up with “a beautiful story and a beautiful script” on Andy Cohen’s radio show.
“I am really grateful to be here and be a part of this story,” Reeves said.
Filming for The Matrix 4 in Berlin shut down on March 16, amid the coronavirus lockdown. However, Warner Bros recently gave the cast and crew the go signal to return to the set. The studio also pushed the release date of the movie to April 2022, from the original May 2021 schedule.
Image used courtesy of Warner Bros UK/YouTube