‘The Matrix Resurrections’ Trailer Sparks Anger for Leaving Laurence Fishburne Out

Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in The Matrix. (Credit: Warner Bros.)

When Warner Bros. Pictures dropped the first trailer Thursday for the highly-anticipated film The Matrix Resurrections, fans of the original 1999 movie noticed a key character was missing — Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus.

Franchise stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are featured in the trailer, but some fans were disheartened by Fishburne’s absence.

Related Story: ‘Black-ish’ Spinoff Starring Laurence Fishburne, Jenifer Lewis Coming to ABC

IndieWire reports Fishburne has not been confirmed for the film and theories have been swirling that actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is supposed to be presented as a younger Morpheus.

Some fans took to Twitter to vent that the older version of Morpheus did not appear in the trailer alongside Reeve’s Neo.

@BelieveInAmoney posted video of an angry man in clown makeup on Twitter and wrote: “Me watching The Matrix trailer thinking Laurence Fishburne was going to be in it.”

@RICHARDLNEWBY tweeted: “Pretty bummed Laurence Fishburne isn’t in the new Matrix. There will probably be an explanation and it seems like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is playing a new iteration of Morpheus. But Fishburne is my favorite part of that OG series…”

@jwhite_64 tweeted: “Laurence Fishburne not being in the Matrix is like Ghostbusters not taking place in NYC.”

https://twitter.com/jwhite_64/status/1435966112362024961?s=20

@SirCoreGant tweeted: “I hope this new Matrix trailer deciding to basically look like a revisit of the first film is intentionally misleading because watching a reimagining of the first one and without Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving in it is wildly uninteresting.”

Added @SuccYuhMadda: “Laurence Fishburne should’ve been in The Matrix 4 but they did him foul.”

Fans will have to keep looking for subtle clues in upcoming trailers, as Abdul-Mateen II’s character is not directly called Morpheus by his name in this first trailer.
In an interview last year, Fishburne said he had “not been invited” to join the cast of the new film. But there’s still time for him to make an appearance.

The Matrix Resurrections will be released in theaters and on HBO Max on Dec. 22. The film is directed, co-written and produced by Lana Wachowski.

Watch the full trailer below:

https://youtu.be/9ix7TUGVYIo


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About Jacquelinne Mejia

Jacquelinne Mejia is a writer and social media producer in Los Angeles. She can be reached on Twitter @JackieMejia.