Yahya Abdul-Mateen II teases his “different iteration” of Morpheus in The Matrix 4

The Matrix Resurrections, the upcoming fourth movie in The Matrix series, is written and directed by Lana Wachowski, without her sister and original co-creator Lilly. It sees Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss return to their iconic roles as Neo and Trinity, despite their characters dying in The Matrix Revolutions. However, Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus is notably absent, but the character still plays a key role. This time, he’s played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Watch him offer Neo the Red Pill, which reveals a life-changing truth about the world, in the trailer below:

There are some actors that feel irreplaceable in certain roles: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins…the list goes on. Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus fits right in there, so Abdul-Mateen II has a tall mountain to climb.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about stepping into the role, the actor explained that he’s not trying to replace Fishburne, but instead create his own version of Morpheus. “It’s not really my job to try to duplicate or try to challenge that history. If anything, I step into it because I appreciate the history.”

"Laurence already did what had to be done. I think what the script provided was a new narrative and some new opportunities that did make room within the Matrix universe for a new Morpheus."

We shouldn’t expect any firm answers on why Morpheus is now played by a younger man from Abdul-Mateen II, who’s become accustomed to keeping game-changing secrets. After all, he kept secret the reveal that he was playing (SPOILER ALERT) Doctor Manhattan in HBO’s Watchmen. That said, he has consistently reaffirmed one thing about his Matrix character: “This is definitely a different iteration of the character.”

"What the viewers will come to understand is that there are many rules of the Matrix. Age, appearance, the things we identify as real, can be manipulated in that world. The Matrix is where anything is possible."

Perhaps we should look elsewhere for clues as to what happened to Morpheus. For instance, there was a video game called The Matrix Online, which has been dormant since 2009. In that game, Morpheus ultimately dies. The game was meant to be canon, so maybe it will be worked in somehow?

The Matrix Resurrections is rated R

Recently, we got confirmation from the Motion Picture Association of America that Resurrections has received an R rating “for violence and some language.” This won’t come as much of a surprise to fans given that each movie in the original trilogy had the same rating.

All questions will be answered (and probably several more raised) when The Matrix Resurrections premieres on December 22 in theaters and on HBO Max.

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h/t Forbes