Drew Goddard Won’t Move Forward With ‘Matrix 5’ Without the Wachowskis’ “Blessing” of the Script

The “Matrix” franchise was more or less derailed by “The Matrix Resurrections.” Two tears later, Drew Goddard was hired by Warner Bros. to revitalize the IP—a daunting task in itself.

The last update had Goddard still writing the script, and refusing to say much about it. When asked whether Keanu Reeves and the original cast would return, Goddard refused to answer the question. “I can’t speak to that.”

Now here’s Lily Wachowski, who isn’t involved with Goddard’s “reboot,” speaking with KCRW’s The Business. Wachowski confirms being “done” with The Matrix, but apparently Goddard still wants Lily and Lana’s blessing before continuing with his work.

Warner Bros. — they want to make another thing. They're always going to want to make another thing. Personally, I don't want to play in that sandbox anymore. I'm kind of done. But there's this maybe-a-thing that's happening with Drew Goddard, and he doesn't want to go forward unless he gets our blessing. And so it becomes this complicated situation — that maybe we're going to stick our noses in a tiny bit and see how we feel. And if we want to pass on our blessing to Drew or not. So could be something that's coming down the road, but it's still unknown.

So, just to recap: Warner Bros. will likely continue on with ‘Matrix’ projects. Lily is absolutely done with the franchise. Goddard apparently wants Lily and Lana Wachowski’s approval before moving forward. Because of that, they may take a small role in the process and decide whether they feel comfortable giving Goddard their blessing.

“The MatrixResurrections,” released in 2021, bombed at the box office. It had a budget of nearly $200M and only managed to gross $159M worldwide, with many suspecting it lost Warner Bros. around $200M. Lana directed that one solo, without Lily.

So that’s where things stand—“The Matrix 5” is still very much in development , and we’re not really sure when, or if, it will actually get off the ground. Is it a reboot? A continuation of the Reeves franchise? Who really knows. Goddard is a talented screenwriter (“Cabin in the Woods”); maybe he’ll come up with something interesting.