Laurence Fishburne has explained his absence from The Matrix Resurrections, revealing that his offer to return was rejected.
The actor, who played Morpheus in the original trilogy, was a notable absence from the divisive fourth instalment, which reunited Keanu Reeves and Carrie Ann Moss.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played a younger version of Morpheus in the 2021 film – and, according to Fishburne, he was turned down when he said he was up for starring in the film.
“I offered my services to the fourth Matrix, and they didn’t respond well to that,” Fishburne said during an appearance on The View, adding that “for whatever reason”, they rejected his offer.
“It’s not like I didn’t say, ‘I’d like to offer my services.’ I did,” the actor added, without naming who it was who said no.
A fifth Matrix film is in the works from Cabin the Woods director Drew Goddard, who is succeeding Lana Wachowski as director.
When asked if he’d reprise the role of Morpheus for the next instalment, Fishburne said it “depended on the circumstances” surrounding “who was involved” and “how well the script has been written”.
Fishburne shared his view on The Matrix Resurrections shortly after its release, tellingVariety: “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. And it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be. But I thought Carrie-Anne and Keanu really did their thing. Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
In response to being asked if he “missed out”, he said: “No, not really.”
Fisburne previously addressed his absence from the project, which was written and directed by Lana Wachowski, in a New York Magazine interview, in which he stated: “I wish them well. I hope it’s great.”
He added that while it’s “great” that Morpheus is “probably the role that I’ll be best remembered for”, it is “not the only thing I’ll be remembered for, which is better”.
The Matrix Resurrections was the first in the franchise since 2003’s The Matrix Revolutions.
There was speculation that Morpheus’s absence from the sequel was a result of the events of The Matrix Online, a video game in which the character was killed.
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