Should The Matrix Be Rebooted as a TV Series?

The Matrix came out 20 years ago and is still heavily discussed in some corners today. Created by The Wachowskis, The Matrix follows a group of heroes, who may or may not have The One among them, battle machine overlords who have enslaved humanity inside a sophisticated virtual reality world.

The Matrix won four Academy Awards and advanced both special effects and a new way of filmmaking. The movie was a hit at the box office, making $460 million worldwide. It had two sequels, each doing very well at the box office.

With anything, Hollywood is eager to go back to the well to make a buck and rumors of a Matrix reboot have been around for years.

Back in March of 2017, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Warner Bros. was in early talks of relaunching the franchise, with Zak Penn rumored to be writing a treatment and wanted Michael B. Jordan to star in it. There was another rumor around that time that they were thinking of doing a prequel that followed a young Morpheus and everyone surmised Jordan would be taking on that role.

Penn went on record saying he didn’t want to reboot or remake The Matrix but wanted to continue new stories in the already established world. Keanu Reeves said in an interview that he would return to a potential new Matrix movie under the condition that the Wachowskis were writing and directing it. Fast forward to March 2018 and Penn said he was working on a revival of the franchise and hinted at the possibility of an expanded universe.

That seems to be a better way of approaching the The Matrix instead of a straight reboot of everything.

So where does that leave us?

I had originally written a little something about how The Matrix could work as a television series, ideally on HBO. Turns out The Hollywood Reporter posted something earlier today stating the same idea of a TV series.

The point is simple. A television series gives them the freedom and time to both build on familiar characters and also push the concept into new territories. Why not have a story arc about a young Morpheus played by Jordan? Or an appearance or two by Reeves. Have the Wachowskis produce and guest direct a few episodes here and there and you’d have a pretty solid franchise.

Maybe even do an episode of an alternate reality Neo played by Will Smith.

What do you think of bringing The Matrix back in some form?