No, Will Smith Isn’t Starring in a New Matrix Movie

Earlier today, Will Smith took to Instagram to casually stock immoderate quality with his astir 70 cardinal followers. The reel, which you tin spot below, recaps the superstar’s notorious vocation decision backmost successful 1997 to prime Wild Wild West implicit The Matrix. “What would The Matrix person been similar with Will Smith arsenic Neo?”, the station asks, past adds “Wake up, Will… the Matrix has you…”

With nary caption oregon context—most radical already knew Smith turned down The Matrix, which went connected to go a genre-defining blockbuster, and besides tin callback with a chuckle astatine however Wild Wild West ended up turning out—the station instantly acceptable a occurrence of speculation crossed the internet.

The astir evident effect would beryllium that Will Smith is appearing successful a caller Matrix movie—and specified a task is so successful the works. According to news that broke past year, Drew Goddard (The Martian, The Cabin successful the Woods) is penning and directing a 5th Matrix film, with bid co-creator Lana Wachowski aboard arsenic enforcement producer. At the time, nary casting oregon communicative details were shared, and that’s inactive the case—and that includes thing to bash with Smith’s involvement.

After his Instagram station went viral, io9 reached retired to Warner Bros., but the company—which owns The Matrix—didn’t cognize what Smith was talking about. A akin “uh, no” absorption came from Hollywood Reporter movie exertion Aaron Crouch, who tweeted through his idiosyncratic X account that “Will Smith is not starring successful the caller Matrix movie.”

Another trade, Variety, doubled down connected that by really moving an nonfiction astir Smith’s station nether the header “Will Smith Isn’t Starring successful New Matrix Movie, So What Neo-Related Project Is He Teasing?” Though immoderate connected the net speculated it mightiness beryllium tied into a Super Bowl commercial—the crippled is February 9, truthful the clip is ripe to commencement dropping hints—the publication’s mentation is that it’s thing to bash with Smith’s other career: “It seems much apt that his cyberpunk-related task volition impact music, since Smith has teased that he’s getting acceptable to driblet his archetypal medium successful 20 years.”

Smith, who won an Oscar for 2021’s King Richard—an grant everlastingly linked with 1 of the oddest moments successful Oscar telecast history—most precocious starred successful Bad Boys: Ride oregon Die, his 4th Bad Boys buddy-cop movie other Martin Lawrence.

What’s your instrumentality connected Smith’s Neo reclamation? Do you deliberation caller euphony is connected the way, oregon thing else?

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