The Matrix 4, or The Matrix Resurrections featured plenty of callbacks to the original trilogy of films, but one of the most beloved cast members to miss out on the revival was Hugo Weaving. Weaving played Agent Smith in the original Matrix trilogy, and to some he is just as iconic as Keanu Reeves’ character Neo. Weaving explained his absence in this movie in an interview with Collider back in 2020.
Weaving seemed just as sad as anyone that he missed out on The Matrix Resurrections, especially since it was a matter of sheer bad luck. He explained that director Lana Wachowski actually wanted him back for the revival, but said that the studio and his talent agency could not come to an agreement on his contract. He suggested that the shooting schedule was also part of the issue, but said that he “really wanted to” make an appearance “because I’m very, very fond of all of them.” He added that “Lana was very keen for me to be part of” the revival.
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“I had some initial reticence about the idea of going back to revisit The Matrix, after having already done three films,” Weaving admitted, “but then I read the script and got an offer to my agent. I immediately responded yes to that, and then we went into negotiation.”
“I was doing a play, at the time, but we were working out dates and things so that I could do both. And then, Lana decided that she didn’t wanna change her dates, so I couldn’t do it. In a nutshell, that’s what happened,” he concluded.
Still, Weaving gushed about how much he loved working on The Matrix, and the people he got to work with on the franchise. In particular, he praised the Wachowski sisters, who wrote and directed the three original films together. Weaving recalled how The Matrix led him to working on other projects with Lana and Lilly Wachowski as well.
“Out of The Matrix came V for Vendetta, which was an absolute joy to make in Berlin. And then, from that, we did Cloud Atlas, again in Berlin. And they’re presently in Berlin with the next Matrix installation,” he said. “Lilly is not there, so it’s just Lana, but Keanu [Reeves] and Carrie-Anne Moss, and some of the original Australian art department went over to Berlin with them, as well. So, there are a lot of people on that set that I would love to see again. It’s such a shame that I’m not doing it, but I’m not, and that’s fine.”
The Matrix: Resurrections premiered on Dec. 22, 2021, in theaters and simultaneously on HBO Max. At the time of this writing, it is not included with any subscription services but is available to rent or purchase digitally on most online stores.
