Screenwriter Zak Penn (The Avengers) has previously stated that we shouldn’t think of the new The Matrix project that he’s writing as a reboot. Today, he took to Twitter to hint at what it really is – and his wording suggests that we might be getting an anthology of sorts.
Penn first started a short Twitter thread clarifying, again, that the script he’s working on is not a reboot. More interestingly, he also noted that it’s not a follow-up to Neo’s story, but another tale telling a story set in the universe:
1) Re: the Matrix, yes I’m writing something. Not a reboot, not a continuation, watch Animatrix, read comics to see what wachowskis did
— Zak Penn (@zakpenn) October 6, 2017
The Animatrix is – as the name implies – an anime anthology of short movies concerning the nature of the Matrix itself, but the stories told within don’t concern themselves with any of the main characters. In the meantime, the comics had a similar approach, but featured more out-there concepts as well. So given that the movie isn’t a reboot and it’s not a sequel, it can be safe to imagine that the project is a one-off of sorts that might lead into other potential spin-offs, akin to what Star Wars recently did with Rogue One. It’s also possible that, like The Animatrix, the movie could tell multiple short stories in a feature-length timespan.
Penn also noted that the project he’s working on is still very early in development, and that they’re not anywhere near ready to begin pre-production on the movie just yet:
2) a script in development is not a movie. No casting, director, style can be discussed yet. Nothing to see here folks…yet.
— Zak Penn (@zakpenn) October 6, 2017
3) no need to put actors or anyone on the spot, because there’s nothing there yet. No reboot or reimagining, no recasting involved.
— Zak Penn (@zakpenn) October 6, 2017
4) and this is not the point in process that those decisions get made. So many hoops to jump through, the first one I gotta do myself.
— Zak Penn (@zakpenn) October 6, 2017
While it’s certainly possible that an official sequel to The Matrix Revolutions will be made (should this spin-off do well), Penn is making it clear that this project is not that, but it’s own thing altogether. The setting lends itself to experimentation by its nature of being a massive simulation, so the sky is effectively the limit with this franchise.
Zak Penn’s untitled Matrix movie has not been given a release date.
Source: Zak Penn