Will Smith may be choosing between the red and blue pill, but the Oscar-winning actor isn’t entering the Matrix for a movie.
Warner Bros. previously announced a fifth “Matrix” installment with “The Martian” screenwriter Drew Goddard attached to write and direct, but knowledgable sources confirmed to Variety that Smith (at least at this point) isn’t involved in the film franchise.
Speculation started on Monday after Smith posted a cryptic message on Instagram, recalling his decision to pass on the starring role of Neo (which eventually went to Keanu Reeves) in Lana or Lilly Wachowski’s seminal 1999 sci-fi epic “The Matrix.”
“In 1997, the Wachowskis offered Will Smith the role of Neo in ‘The Matrix.’ Smith turned it down,” his Instagram video, written in third-person, reads. “He chose ‘Wild Wild West,’ believing it was a better fit for him at the time. But the question remains: What would ‘The Matrix’ have been like with Will Smith as Neo?”
With Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity at the helm, “The Matrix” ignited a quarter-century-spanning series with three sequels, 2003’s “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” and 2021’s “The Matrix Resurrections,” and counting. Meanwhile, 1999’s “Wild Wild West” flopped at the box office and earned eight Razzie nominations, including in worst picture. Smith’s Western did, however, spawn the Grammy-nominated single of the same name.
Smith’s video ends with the text: “Wake up, Will. The matrix has you.”
It seems more likely that his cyberpunk-related venture will involve music, since Smith has teased that he’s getting ready to drop his first album in 20 years. His last was 2005’s “Lost and Found.” The four-time Grammy Award winner has three other solo albums, 1997’s “Big Willie Style,” 1999’s “Willennium” and 2002’s “Born to Reign.” More recently, Smith has released several singles, including the Gospel tracks “You Can Make It,” “Work of Art” and “Tantrum,” and some accompanying music videos over the course of the past six months. He has also returned to the stage, making a surprise appearance during J. Balvin’s latest Coachella set and performing at the BET Awards.
Of course, “Wild Wild West” (and a few other notable bombs) aside, Smith was one of the biggest box office draws of the ’90s and early 2000s, leading such commercial hits as “I Am Legend,” “Men in Black,” “Bad Boys” and “Independence Day.” He most recently starred in 2024’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” which marked Smith’s first major film on the big screen since he assaulted Chris Rock on stage at the 2022 Oscars.
“Through some of my darkest moments, music has always been there for me,” Smith wrote on Instagram last June. “To lift me and help me grow.”