No, Will Smith Is not Starring in a New Matrix Film

Earlier at the moment, Will Smith took to Instagram to casually share some information together with his almost 70 million followers. The reel, which you’ll be able to see beneath, recaps the superstar’s notorious career decision again in 1997 to select Wild Wild West over The Matrix. “What would The Matrix have been like with Will Smith as Neo?”, the submit asks, then provides “Get up, Will… the Matrix has you…”

With no caption or context—most individuals already knew Smith turned down The Matrix, which went on to turn into a genre-defining blockbuster, and in addition can recall with a chuckle at how Wild Wild West ended up turning out—the submit instantly set a fireplace of hypothesis throughout the web.

The obvious response can be that Will Smith is showing in a brand new Matrix film—and such a venture is certainly within the works. In response to news that broke last year, Drew Goddard (The Martian, The Cabin within the Woods) is writing and directing a fifth Matrix movie, with sequence co-creator Lana Wachowski aboard as govt producer. On the time, no casting or story particulars have been shared, and that’s nonetheless the case—and that features something to do with Smith’s involvement.

After his Instagram submit went viral, io9 reached out to Warner Bros., however the firm—which owns The Matrix—didn’t know what Smith was speaking about. The same “uh, no” response got here from Hollywood Reporter movie editor Aaron Crouch, who tweeted through his personal X account that “Will Smith just isn’t starring within the new Matrix film.”

One other commerce, Variety, doubled down on that by really operating an article about Smith’s submit beneath the headline “Will Smith Isn’t Starring in New Matrix Film, So What Neo-Associated Challenge Is He Teasing?” Although some on the web speculated it may be tied right into a Tremendous Bowl industrial—the sport is February 9, so the time is ripe to start out dropping hints—the publication’s concept is that it’s one thing to do with Smith’s different profession: “It appears extra probably that his cyberpunk-related enterprise will contain music, since Smith has teased that he’s on the brink of drop his first album in 20 years.”

Smith, who received an Oscar for 2021’s King Richard—an honor without end linked with one of many oddest moments in Oscar telecast historical past—most not too long ago starred in Unhealthy Boys: Trip or Die, his fourth Unhealthy Boys buddy-cop film reverse Martin Lawrence.

What’s your tackle Smith’s Neo reclamation? Do you assume new music is on the best way, or one thing else?

Need extra io9 information? Try when to count on the most recent Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and the whole lot you’ll want to learn about the way forward for Doctor Who.