Hugo Weaving Will Not Return to Play Agent Smith in THE MATRIX 4

With a few of the cast members from the original Matrix movies coming back for The Matrix 4, some fans have been wondering if Hugo Weaving would return as Agent Smith. Well, I’ve got some bad news for you if you were hoping to see him in the upcoming sequel.

Director Lana Wachowski did offer him a role in the film, but unfortunately, due to his busy schedule, he wasn’t able to fit the move into it. During an interview with Time Out, Weaving was asked if he would be in the film and this was his reply:

“I’m not, no… It’s unfortunate but actually I had this offer [for upcoming movie The Visit] and then the offer came from The Matrix, so I knew it was happening but I didn’t have dates. I thought [I] could do both and it took eight weeks to work out that the dates would work – I held off on accepting [a role in The Visit].”

That’s kind of a bummer that things didn’t work out because it would have been fun to see Weaving back as Agent Smith. Weaving went on to say that, in the end, the desitcon to try and work things out came from Wachowski, and she opted to move forward without him:

“I was in touch with [director] Lana Wachowski, but in the end she decided that the dates weren’t going to work. So we’d sorted the dates and then she sort of changed her mind. They’re pushing on ahead without me.”

Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are set to reprise their roles as Neo and Trinity, while Aquaman actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is taking on a lead role that could very well be a young Morpheus. Jada Pinkett Smith is also set to come back in the role of Niobe, while Jessica Henwick and Neil Patrick Harris have also been cast. Harris might end up playing the villain in the story. MIndhunter star Jonathan Groff has also joined the cast.

Wachowski will co-write the screenplay with Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell. I hope this new Matrix sequel turns out as great as the first movie. It’ll hit theaters on May 21, 2021