Lilly Wachowski Says She's "Kinda Done" With the Matrix Franchise
Lilly Wachowski has said she is "kinda done" with the Matrix franchise and does not want to "play in that sandbox anymore," speaking on KCRW's podcast The Business (Deadline).
Her comments come as Warner Bros. moves forward with plans for a fifth Matrix film. In 2024, Deadline reported that Drew Goddard — the writer-director behind The Cabin in the Woods and screenwriter of The Martian — was set to write and direct the next instalment, with Lana Wachowski returning as executive producer (Deadline).
Lilly told KCRW that Goddard "doesn't wanna go forward unless he gets our blessing" for the new project. She and Lana may "stick our noses in a tiny bit" to decide whether to give that blessing, though she indicated nothing is settled. Warner Bros., she said, is "always gonna wanna make another thing" Matrix (Deadline).
The franchise's history is tangled. Lilly and Lana Wachowski co-wrote and co-directed the original Matrix trilogy: The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), and The Matrix Revolutions (2003). Lana then flew solo, writing and directing 2021's The Matrix Resurrections without Lilly's involvement (Deadline).
Lilly's attention is elsewhere. She is working to secure financing for The Hunted, a dystopian political thriller with an all-trans cast. In August, she told The Hollywood Reporter that Hollywood will not finance the film because of that casting choice (The Hollywood Reporter).
She described the project as featuring a "wall-to-wall trans cast" and said the financing roadblock is a familiar one for projects that centre trans performers (Deadline).
For Matrix fans, the upshot is straightforward: a new film is in development with Goddard at the helm, Lana Wachowski in an executive-producer role, and Lilly stepping back entirely. Whether the sisters formally bless Goddard's vision remains the open question that will shape what the franchise looks like next.
