Walking into a theater for a fourth Matrix movie was always going to feel like a glitch in the system. It had been nearly twenty years. When the credits finally rolled on The Matrix Resurrections, the conversation wasn't just about the green code or the meta-commentary on sequels; it was about the faces. Or, more accurately, the missing ones.
The cast of The Matrix 4 represents one of the balliest casting shifts in modern blockbuster history. Usually, a legacy sequel tries to cram every living actor back into their original spandex. Lana Wachowski didn't do that. She kept the soul of the franchise—Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss—and then purposefully broke almost everything else. It was jarring. It was confusing for some. But it was also entirely the point.
Keanu and Carrie-Anne: The Only Constants
Neo and Trinity. Without them, there is no movie. Keanu Reeves returned as Thomas Anderson, but this time he’s a weary, blue-pill-popping game designer. He looks older, sure, but he carries a specific kind of "John Wick" exhaustion that actually fits the narrative of a man who has died and been rebuilt by machines several times over.
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Then there’s Carrie-Anne Moss. Honestly, her performance as Tiffany/Trinity is the heartbeat of the entire film. While the original trilogy was "The Prophecy of the One," this movie is a love story. Seeing them back together on a motorcycle in San Francisco felt earned. It wasn’t just nostalgia bait; it was the only way to anchor a story that was spinning off into some very weird, very meta directions.
The Morpheus Elephant in the Room
You can’t talk about the cast of The Matrix 4 without addressing Laurence Fishburne. Or the lack of him.
The internet went into a minor meltdown when the first trailer dropped and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II appeared in the yellow suit and iconic pince-nez glasses. People asked: Where is Laurence? Did they snub him? Fishburne himself was pretty blunt in interviews, stating he simply wasn't invited back.
But within the logic of the film, Yahya isn't playing "Old Morpheus." He’s playing a program—a digital distillation of Morpheus and Agent Smith created by Neo’s subconscious. It sounds complicated because it is. Yahya brings a flamboyant, colorful energy to the role that is miles away from Fishburne’s stoic, Zen-like gravitas. He’s great, but he’s a different character wearing a familiar name. If you go in expecting the 1999 version of the character, you’re going to be disappointed. He’s more of a sentient glitch than a revolutionary leader.
Replacing the Unreplaceable: Jonathan Groff as Smith
Hugo Weaving is the definitive Agent Smith. His cadence, that weirdly rhythmic way he said "Mister Anderson," is etched into the DNA of sci-fi. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts with a theater project kept Weaving out of the production.
Enter Jonathan Groff.
Most people know him as King George from Hamilton or the lead in Mindhunter. In Resurrections, he plays a corporate version of Smith. He’s polished. He’s wearing expensive suits. He doesn't have the earpiece. Groff manages to capture the essence of Smith—the seething hatred for the system and the obsession with Neo—without doing a cheap impression of Hugo Weaving. It’s a performance that grows on you, especially during the chaotic third-act fight scenes.
The New Guard: Bugs and the Crew of the Mnemosyne
The real discovery in the cast of The Matrix 4 was Jessica Henwick. As Bugs, the captain with the blue hair and the "White Rabbit" tattoo, she basically carries the first forty minutes of the movie.
Henwick reportedly turned down a role in a Marvel movie (Shang-Chi) to be in this, and you can tell she’s giving it everything. She represents the new generation of Zion—or rather, Io—citizens who grew up hearing legends about Neo but never saw him as a person.
The rest of the crew is a mix of fresh faces:
- Eréndira Ibarra as Lexy, a devoted follower of the Trinity legend.
- Max Riemelt (from Wachowski’s Sense8) as Shepherd.
- Toby Onwumere and Brian J. Smith (also Sense8 alumni), filling out the tech and operator roles.
It’s clear Lana Wachowski wanted to bring her "creative family" along for the ride. If you’ve watched Sense8, the chemistry between these actors feels familiar. If you haven't, they might feel a bit like background noise compared to the heavy hitters.
Neil Patrick Harris and the Villain Pivot
Perhaps the most divisive addition to the cast of The Matrix 4 was Neil Patrick Harris as The Analyst. He replaces the "Architect" figure from the previous films. Instead of a cold, logical man in a white suit, we get a therapist in a blue cardigan who uses cats and gaslighting to keep Neo in check.
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It’s a brilliant bit of casting if you hate the character. Harris plays him with a smug, intellectual superiority that makes you want to punch the screen. He represents the modern version of control—not through brute force or "Agents," but through anxiety, prescription pills, and the manipulation of personal desire.
The Legacy Returns: Niobe and Sati
Jada Pinkett Smith returned as Niobe, but you might not have recognized her under five hours of prosthetic makeup. She plays an elderly version of the character, now the leader of the human city Io. It’s a thankless role in some ways—mostly standing around giving exposition—but it provides a necessary bridge to the past.
Then there’s Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Sati. Remember the little girl at the train station in Revolutions? She’s all grown up. Sati becomes the bridge between the machine world and the human world, helping Neo and Trinity find their way back to each other. Chopra Jonas brings a calm, regal presence to a movie that is otherwise quite frantic.
Why the Casting Matters for the Fans
If you're looking for the original high-octane, leather-clad vibe of 1999, this cast wasn't designed for you. The cast of The Matrix 4 was built to subvert expectations. It’s a movie about how our memories of the past are often manipulated or "rebooted" by people who want to sell them back to us.
The absence of Hugo Weaving and Laurence Fishburne hurts, but it's a thematic hurt. It makes Neo feel isolated. It makes the world feel wrong. That "wrongness" is the engine that drives the plot.
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Actionable Insights for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re planning to dive back into the Matrix hexalogy or just want to appreciate the performances more, keep these points in mind:
- Watch for the "Sense8" cameos: Many background actors and secondary characters are from Lana Wachowski’s Netflix series. The chemistry is built on real-world friendships.
- Focus on Groff’s eyes: Jonathan Groff does a lot of work with his physicality to mimic Smith’s "contained rage" without using the same vocal tics as Weaving.
- Revisit the Animatrix: If Yahya’s Morpheus feels confusing, remember that the Matrix has always had "programs" that take human forms. He is essentially a "Hero Program."
- The Trinity Shift: Pay attention to how the camera treats Carrie-Anne Moss in the final third. The casting and the writing shift the "One" mantle in a way that recontextualizes the previous three films.
The cast of The Matrix 4 isn't just a list of actors; it's a statement on how franchises evolve. Whether you love the new faces or miss the old ones, you can't deny that Lana Wachowski chose them with a very specific, very personal vision in mind. It's a movie that values the actors' real-life personas as much as their fictional counterparts.
To get the most out of the experience, try watching The Matrix Resurrections immediately after the original 1999 film. The contrast in acting styles—from the rigid, "cool" performances of the 90s to the more emotional, vulnerable acting of the 2020s—tells a story all its own about how much we, and the actors, have changed over two decades.