Laurence Fishburne has confirmed that he won’t be reprising the iconic role of Morpheus for Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix 4, as he admitted that he “has not been invited” to return.
According to The Wrap, Fishburne told New York Magazine that he was never approached about joining the upcoming Matrix sequel, even though several actors from the original trilogy are returning to reprise their respective roles.
“I have not been invited. Maybe that will make me write another play. I wish them well. I hope it’s great,” Fishburne told the publication.
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“It is probably the role that I’ll be best remembered for, which is great; it’s not the only thing I’ll be remembered for, which is better,” he added, reflecting back on his time playing the character. “What I get with him is I’ve got Darth Vader in this hand, and I’ve got Obi-Wan in that hand. I’ve got Bruce Lee, I’ve got Muhammad Ali shuffled in there, and I’ve got kung fu.”
Fishburne’s absence from the cast list might be because Morpheus was killed in The Matrix Online, an MMORPG that continues the saga of The Matrix movie trilogy. The game tells the story of Morpheus’ attempts to recover Neo’s body from the Machines and his subsequent rampage through the MegaCity. The Machines respond by sending the Assassin after Morpheus who later dies from gunshot wounds.
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While very little is known about the plot of The Matrix 4, the producers were reportedly looking for two actors to portray younger versions of Neo and Morpheus last year, though there has been no further word on these prospective casting choices. Will the young Neo/Morpheus scenes be flashbacks, or will those characters somehow be rebooted in a new version of the Matrix?
Plug into the rumours by checking out our history of stories surrounding the fourth film and take a look at everything that we know about the sequel so far.
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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.
Source: IGN.com The Matrix 4: Laurence Fishburne Confirms He Won't Be Back as Morpheus