John Wick 4 and The Matrix 4 were meant to launch together: Where are they now?
Last we checked with the two next major Keanu Reeves movies, John Wick 4 and The Matrix 4, we were discussing how their paired launch was changed. On May 21, 2021, The Matrix 4 and John Wick 4 were supposed to launch one next to the other, both in theaters on the same day. Now the movies are in very different points in production, with release dates now approximately 5 months apart.
The Matrix will be released first. This movie is jammed with mighty expectations, as the previous most-recent Matrix movie was released a full 18 years ago. That movie was released just 6 months after The Matrix Reloaded, a movie which was released approximately 4 years after the first movie The Matrix, which was released in the year 1999.
Principal photography for the film was completed in November of 2020, but news of previously un-announced actor attachments to the film have popped up since then. For example Christina Ricci was announced as part of the cast in June of 2021.
As of this week, per a Collider Interview, Laurence Fishburne is officially NOT a part of this newest Matrix movie. That doesn't necessarily mean he won't be mentioned – that'd be pretty unbelievable – but it is possible that he will not appear onscreen.
Other characters that've previously appeared in Matrix movies will reprise their roles, including
• Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe
• Lambert Wilson as The Merovingian
• Daniel Bernhardt as Agent Johnson
• Keanu Reeves as Neo
• Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity
John Wick 4 will, on the other hand, once again feature Laurence Fishburne as The Bowery King alongside Keanu Reeves as John Wick. Shamier Anderson, Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rina Sawayama, and Donnie Yen have all been confirmed to be appearing in the film as well.
Per the latest report from Deadline, this new John Wick movie will also potentially feature Scott Adkins.
FUN FACT: The movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Scott Adkins played the mouth-removed version of Deadpool (AKA Weapon XI). That was the Ryan Reynolds character before he was rebooted in Deadpool. He wasn't credited on that movie as he was meant to just... look like Ryan Reynolds. Weird!
The movie John Wick 4 is currently scheduled for theatrical release on May 27, 2022. This film is executive produced by Keanu Reeves and Louise Rosner, produced by Chad Stahelski, Erica Lee, Basil Iwanyk, and once again directed by Chad Stahelski.
The movie The Matrix 4 (the untitled fourth Matrix film) is currently scheduled to be released in theaters and streamed digitally on HBO Max in the United States (for the first month) starting on December 22, 2021. This film is being produced by Lana Wachowski and Grant Hill and directed by Lana Wachowski.