The Matrix drama is still unfolding in 2025, and this time, it’s not bullet time, it’s petty time. Laurence “Morpheus-forever-in-our-hearts” Fishburne just let a little tea spill during his recent stop at The View, and let’s just say…the red pill ain’t got nothing on this shade.
While chopping it up with the ladies, Mr. Fishburne casually revealed that when The Matrix Resurrections was gearing up back in 2021, he actually offered to reprise his iconic role. Yes, offered. As in, “Hey y’all, I am Morpheus—if you need me, I’m right here!” You would think the Matrix folks would’ve hit him with a quick “Say less,” right?
According to Fishburne, however, “They didn’t respond well to that.”
Not “they passed,” not “we couldn’t make it work”—just a cold, corporate shoulder. Now, Fishburne didn’t go full scorched earth, but he made it crystal clear: he asked to be in the film, and they were basically like, new Morpheus who dis?
Instead, they cast Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a “reiteration” of Morpheus, while Keanu Reeves got to keep sliding around in slo-mo for the fourth time. Look, no shade to Yahya, he’s a phenomenal actor, but let’s not act like Laurence Fishburne didn’t build the Morpheus brand from the ground up in a long leather trench coat and those tiny rimless glasses. He is the blueprint.
When asked if he’d be down to return for the upcoming Matrix 5 (yes, it’s happening), Fishburne kept it classy but cautious: “It depends on who was involved, how well the script has been written…” Translation: If y’all want me back now, it better be worth my time and my check.
He also made it clear that his absence from Resurrections was not his choice. “For whatever reason, it didn’t happen,” he said.
The truth is, Fishburne doesn’t need The Matrix, he’s got range, he’s got Oscars in the convo, and he’s booked and busy. However, the audacity of not bringing back one of the original pill-poppin’ prophets of the franchise? That still stings.
Fishburne did confirm that the door isn’t closed but if the powers that be want Morpheus back in action, they better come correct this time. Fishburne already offered once.
Stay tuned, because this franchise might need more than Neo to save it from its own casting karma.
The post Morpheus Madness: Laurence Fishburne Says The Matrix Team ‘Didn’t Respond Well’ When He Offered To Return For 2021 Sequel appeared first on Bossip.
