Neil Patrick Harris on Lana Wachowski's vision for The Matrix 4: 'Her style has shifted'

While the fourth Matrix film is shrouded in a ton of mystery, you can bet that it's going to push the genre envelope like the original trilogy. Appearing on The Jess Cagle Show, cast member Neil Patrick Harris talked about director Lana Wachowski's vision for the sci-fi project that sees the return of series OGs Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss).

"I have great hope that fans will appreciate all the work that Lana and everyone is putting into this movie," Harris said. "I’m a big Lana Wachowski fan; I think she’s a great person; I think she has a great inclusive energy. And her style has shifted visually from what she had done, to what she is currently doing. It’s changed in an evolved way, and she’s such a bright light."

Lana, who wrote and directed The Matrix trilogy with her sister Lilly, co-wrote the fourth entry in the franchise with Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell. Lilly did not return to share directing duties for this one.

Aside from the returning characters, nothing is known about the newcomers like Harris, who admitted that he would have been happy to participate "in any capacity." He added: "I would have been happy to just go and visit the set of a big giant franchise movie. So the fact that I get a small part in this and can watch from afar … and see how it’s working and see the machine of it all — machine probably being appropriate since it’s The Matrix — I’ve just been having a blast."

Harris' co-stars include Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ellen Hollman, Brian J. Smith, Jessica Henwick, Jada Pinkett Smith, Toby Onwumere, Priyanka Chopra, and Jonathan Groff. Sadly, Laurence Fishburne was not asked to reprise the role of Morpheus, although he wishes the movie well. 

"It’s a very smart team, they’re making a giant movie under very unique circumstances, and I’ve always wanted to be a lead in a big, giant action movie with wires and stuff," Harris finished. "This is not that for me, but it’s certainly tangential and fun for me to be able to admire it and at least play in the sandbox a little bit. I can’t wait for the day when we’re able to watch these big movies in big theaters because this one deserves to be seen on a big scale. It’s ambitious and everyone involved in it, as far as I’m aware, is crushing it."

Originally slated to open in May of 2021, The Matrix 4 was delayed to April 1, 2022 as a result of COVID-19. Production has resumed in Germany.