Laurence Fishburne isn’t completely shutting the door on returning to The Matrix universe — but he’s not jumping back in just yet.
At a reunion panel during New York Comic Con 2025, the actor was asked if he’d reprise his legendary role as Morpheus in the upcoming fifth Matrix film, which is being developed without original creators Lana and Lily Wachowski.
“It depends on how good it is, really,” Fishburne told the crowd, earning cheers, according to Variety. “If it’s great, then yeah, if it makes sense. I don’t know if it makes sense.”
His comments follow last year’s announcement that The Martian screenwriter Drew Goddard will write and direct the next installment for Warner Bros.—the first Matrix movie not directed by the Wachowskis. Lana Wachowski is said to be attached as an executive producer, though Fishburne hasn’t been contacted about returning.
Fishburne’s hesitation is understandable, given that he was left out of 2021’s The Matrix Resurrections, even though Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss came back. The actor revealed at the panel that he reached out to Lana Wachowski about appearing in the film but wasn’t included.
“I reached out,” he shared. “It just didn’t pan out. I said, ‘Thank you very much,’ and Lana said, ‘Thank you very much, I’ll think about it,’ and that was that.”
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II ended up taking on a new iteration of Morpheus in Resurrections, a move that surprised many long-time fans. Fishburne has maintained a calm and respectful stance whenever addressing his exclusion.
During the NYCC discussion, moderated by Happy Sad Confused host Josh Horowitz, Fishburne also reflected on The Matrix’s lasting impact on pop culture.
“There’s no movie that comes after The Matrix—sci-fi, action, or fantasy—that hasn’t been influenced by it,” he said. “It’s everywhere. It’s so pervasive you almost forget where it came from. Now, people don’t realize, but no Matrix, no MCU. It just wouldn’t look the same.”
