https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/yahya-abdul-mateen-ii-interview
>In The Matrix Resurrections, out next month, Abdul-Mateen is Morpheus, who, in the earlier films, was the sage-like don of the resistance leading a charge against the machines that have enslaved mankind as human batteries, with our reality nothing but a simulation. “The character’s called Morpheus,” he corrects me, fast. There is some consternation online about why Laurence Fishburne, the original Morpheus, is not playing the character called Morpheus, given Keanu Reeves is back as Neo [the chosen one, who can defeat the machines] and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. Has he spoken to Fishburne? “By the time this interview comes out, I would have. I want to.” It should be pointed out that Fishburne has not only been very gracious in the build-up to this fourth film, but also that, if you go by strict Matrix folklore, namely a video game called The Matrix Online, Morpheus is actually dead. “It will make sense when it comes out,” says Abdul-Mateen, who is playing Morpheus but is not Morpheus.
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>Was Abdul-Mateen a fan of the original?
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>“I was never a big fan of movies,” he says bluntly, which, for an actor in movies, is strikingly honest. “Things that I really liked, though, I watched over and over, but I wasn’t a cinephile.” What did he watch on repeat? “Training Day. Tropic Thunder. Whiplash. Amadeus.” He likes the latter because it is about someone who is excellent at what they do, but not quite the best. Still, he was not into The Matrix. “I was aware, but it wasn’t something I watched ten or 15 times. I’ve never had an argument about The Matrix!”
>When The Matrix came out, in 1999, it was a staggering spectacle, an ideal blockbuster mesh of brains (René Descartes) and bullets (in slo-mo). No blockbuster has influenced the wider world of style as much since and, despite two largely terrible sequels, the appetite for the new film, directed by Lana Wachowski, is strong. One key difference from the previous instalments is that, in footage, the new one looks quite funny. “I hope so,” says Abdul-Mateen. The first three sure weren’t. “Tonally, it’s a bit different.”
>From a scene in the trailer, it would appear that the new film pushes the idea that we are all on our phones, all the time, so that **while, in the
... keep reading on reddit ➡https://www.wired.com/story/matrix-resurrections-yahya-abdul-mateen-ii-qa/
>Do you feel any responsibility as a Black actor?
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>My responsibility is to myself. One thing about where I'm at right now is that I want to have the freedom to do what I want to do, in the way I want to do it. It's interesting, you know, the idea of how Lana [Wachowski] works. That's really the dream—to be able to work how she works.
>Talk to me about working with Lana on the new film.
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>Lana's dope. She's very family-oriented. I probably heard that word more than anything over the course of the film.
>What did she mean by it?
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>She's talking about the family—that includes the actors, that includes the crew, everybody from the top down. She was really all about making sure that this was a family experience. Also, she has a strong sense of vision. She's the only director I've ever worked with who will grab the camera from the DP or from the camera operator and film something herself. She was right there, damn near inside of the movie. She really put her muscle and sweat into it. And talk about somebody who is just whip-smart. To be able to create the world of The Matrix, but then to come back 20 years later and make it relevant to her personal story and her journey, and to allow that to be universal, is something that I appreciated. To me, it seems as though she makes her art for an audience of one, which is herself, and then trusts that there will be an appetite for it.
>That seems like the purest form of creative expression.
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>She's not a conformist. Especially with big studio films, a lot of times there's a lot of asks and places to compromise. But her approach was really, really inspiring in terms of seeing an artist take their destiny into their own hands, so to speak.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWPaM_5DxDJ/
>A day and night well done with jhenwick and yahya ❤️✨😍 thematrixmovie
>Hours before her Instagram post, Priyanka shared a glimpse of her look for the day. Sharing a brief video from what appeared to be a make-up room, she wrote: “And it starts, The Matrix Resurrections,” and added a red heart.
Per my other other post, we might have to wait until December to see the result of the day.
edit: Or maybe it's not yesterday, Saturday, maybe they did it on Friday and she posted about it on Saturday.
https://twitter.com/CCXPoficial/status/1463870835794628613
I wonder if they will do a surprise screening of the film.
Interview: https://ew.com/movies/yahya-abdul-mateen-ii-morpheus-the-matrix-4/
>For his part, Abdul-Mateen has nothing but respect for Fishburne's performance — and had no interest in replicating it. "Laurence already did what had to be done," he says. "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."
>Morpheus would later return in a Matrix video game, a piece of the movies' extended canon, in which he seemingly died trying to recover Neo's remains. Abdul-Mateen denies that the game impacted his performance, admitting he'd "be bulls---ting" if he said otherwise.
>His one concession: "This is definitely a different iteration of the character."
>"I play a character who's definitely aware of the history of the Matrix [and] the history of Morpheus," he says. "This character is on a journey of self-discovery. There's a lot in our story that's about growth, defining your own path. Morpheus isn't exempt from that."
>"What the viewers will come to understand is that there are many rules of the Matrix," he says. "Age, appearance, the things we identify as real, can be manipulated in that world. The Matrix is where anything is possible."
>In that first film two decades ago, the Wachowskis offered a warning about "what the future might become." Abdul-Mateen suggests "we may have become that future." While Resurrections still points to those dangers, he adds, "Our film is so much more driven by the hope of what the world can be that it grounds it all in reality. Everybody's so plugged in these days. I think for a lot of reasons, it'll be a mind trip."
Also includes one new still. edit: Sister thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/matrix/comments/q8oqzx/new_official_stills/ features prominently the new still.
So I've been reading the Darth Bane trilogy and first of all the books are amazing and everyone should give them a try, but I've thinking who could play this guy in live action.
I think Yahya would be phenomenomal. Great and versatile actor with the physique that could match that of Dessel/Darth Bane.
Any thoughts?
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/yahya-abdul-mateen-ii-candyman-matrix-4-1234995205/
>On set, he found himself initially a bit starstruck. “I remember Keanu and his first line. I looked up, and there was Keanu, and I said, ‘Oh shit, I’m really in The Matrix,’ ” he says. “It was just Keanu in that voice. And the technology that Lana incorporated and the filmmaking, camera rigs that I’ve never seen before. It’s so ambitious. It was really interesting to be making The Matrix 4 at a time when the world was so warped and when reality was so distorted. It could creep in a little bit if you let it.”
https://preview.redd.it/yqe6gvc41s181.jpg?width=2664&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=250a07de54b48ed76f3737826e5da42b3d897625
Ok, I know Morpheus was killed in Matrix Online and it seems, that Mateen is playing young Morpheus. But why dont they dont they use Fishburne, when they plan to do a reincarnation of the character. I mean it doesnt have to be a young version and have you seen Fish lately? He is thin and in good shape. A missed opportunity if you ask me. And if it has be young Morpheus for unknown plot reasons, why dont they use that deaging technology with Fish. It doesnt make sense for me and now the internet makes fun of Mateens Morpheus, calling him Dorpheus or Morbeus, which is a shame because the Trailer is so damn amazing if you ask me.
Is there a feud between Lana and Lawrence or something else I missed?
It is so pointles not to use Fishburne, but the character of Morpheus.
What do you think?
I think I figured it all out.
The scene of Yahya being "materialized" by a machine is his avatar in the Matrix being generated for the first time. He is born outside of the Matrix, he's the son of Morpheus and Niobe.. somehow he gets into the machine city and gets plugged in. His father's dying wish was to get Neo's remains back to Zion (as shown in Matrix Online)
Morpheus' son goes in to unplug Neo, who agreed to be resurrected and put back into the matrix after killing Smith.. with another guarantee that the machines brought Trinity's remains back and resurrected her as well.
Neo (and likely Trinity) have those extra plugs going into their spines, because the machines had to fuse their brains back to their bodies after a small decomposition period.
It's possible Neo and Trinity were put back in together, had a married life.. but they tried to wake people up later and were separated. They are brainwashed and drugged to believe none of their memories happened. Part of the deal Neo had with the machines, was that he or Trinity couldn't be killed. The machines keep them brainwashed instead of killing off the potential problem, and this maintains the peace treaty with the humans as well.
So basically, Morpheus' son might screw the peace treaty up in order to bring The One back to Zion.. kicking off the war again and hence a new trilogy.
