Why Laurence Fishburne Didn't Return As Morpheus In The Matrix Resurrections

When the first two sequels to the Wachowskis' "The Matrix," titled "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions," both released in theaters in 2003, it set a strange precedent for Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. Certain 2000s-era hits, rather than getting a single expected sequel, were granted a gigantic, outsize, super-sequel finale that was released in two parts. In addition to "The Matrix," major studios also took a "mega-sequel finale" approach to "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Harry Potter," "Twilight," and "The Hunger Games." Indeed, "Mission: Impossible" has since done the same thing with "Dead Reckoning" and "The Final Reckoning." Heck, even Marvel Studios made an "Avengers" mega-sequel-finale with "Infinity War" and "Endgame."

"The Matrix," however, also proved that the mega-sequel approach doesn't always work well. While "Reloaded" and "Revolutions" were hugely ambitious and exciting hits, they were also overstuffed, clunky, and wrestled with too many ideas (some good, some bad). The mythology also became far too complicated for its own good. Part of the third film's climax even involved an army of wicked mechanical octopodes invading a subterranean human stronghold, with Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) racing in an armed hovercraft to help fight them off alongside an army of other human rebels. He was one of the few characters to survive the battle but one of many, many individuals to keep track of in that movie.

Morpheus, however, was killed off in "The Matrix Online," a video game that was released in 2005 and continued the story of the films. It seems that a mysterious masked figure called The Assassin gunned Morpheus down in an alleyway. This is the main reason why Fishburne didn't appear in Lana Wachowski's late-stage 2021 sequel "The Matrix Resurrections." If Morpheus was dead, then Fishburne wouldn't be needed, right?

Weirdly, through some sci-fi conceits, the character returned for "Resurrections" anyway, albeit in an altered state, as now played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. During an appearance on "The View" (as covered by Entertainment Weekly), Fishburne revealed that he actually offered his services to the makers of "Resurrections," but that they, surprisingly, turned him down.

Fishburne has been a little coy about why, exactly, Lana Wachowski declined to include him, but he was certainly absent from "Resurrections." The new version of Morpheus was explained to be a machine-generated simulation that took on parts of Morpheus' old personality, as well as certain aspects of Agent Smith (the character previously played by Hugo Weaving in the first three "Matrix" movies). This seemed like a strange cognitive leap to make, given that an excellent actor like Fishburne is still available. Other "Matrix" actors like Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Lambert Wilson all came back for the fourth entry in the property, so why not Fishburne?

When the hosts of "The View" asked if he would be willing to do yet another "Matrix" movie, should the opportunity present itself, Fishburne replied:

"It depends on the circumstances, who was involved, how well the script has been written, if they offer me [a part]. I offered my services to the fourth 'Matrix,' and they didn't respond well to that. It's not like I didn't say, 'I'd like to offer my services.' I did. For whatever reason, that didn't happen. But that's the truth. We'll see."

This isn't the first time Fishburne has mentioned that he wasn't invited back for "Resurrections." The actor clearly expected to be cast in a new "Matrix" film, given how important his character was in the first three; Morpheus, after all, was the sage and instructor for Reeves' Neo. "Maybe that will make me write another play," he remarked. This was likely a reminder that he also wrote, directed, and starred in a play titled "Riff Raff," which opened at New York's Circle Rep Theater back in 1999.

Fishburne didn't mention that Morpheus had died in "The Matrix Online," however. That game took place after the events of "Revolutions" and explored the uneasy peace pact between humans and the sentient Machines that once imprisoned them. After the Machines fail to honor some shaky peace contracts, Morpheus begins planting bombs inside the artificial V.R. world of the Matrix as a form of protest. This leads to the Assassin appearing and killing Morpheus in retaliation for his bombings. Some felt that Morpheus might have lived in the real world, as he was only assassinated inside of the Matrix, but it's later explained that the Assassin used a special kind of super-bullet that does indeed kill people in the real world when they die in the Matrix. Morpheus was really most sincerely dead.

Although it's not terribly well-regarded, "The Matrix Online" is technically canonical, even though many fans of "The Matrix" aren't familiar with it. Some might even say that Morpheus' death doesn't really "count" because it happened in such an obscure place. This, however, is likely just an expression of dissatisfaction with Morpheus' murder.

It seems that Lana Wachowski (her sister, Lilly, declined to participate in "Resurrections") didn't bother pointing out to Fishburne that Morpheus was dead. The Wachowskis, after all, did direct "The Matrix Online," so they knew what the story was. For "Resurrections," it's likely Lana brought back Morpheus in an altered form just to bank on nostalgia imagery ... but also as a meta-commentary on the way late-stage sequels tend to cheaply resurrect dead characters. In fact, a lot of the plot of "Resurrections" acts as a devoted takedown of corporate ownership of art. Perhaps Morpheus is absent because the commentary wouldn't work with his presence.